Busking
by tii-chan17
Summary: -AU- Gin and Rangiku are teenage orphans run away from the care home. By posing as adults, they manage to find an apartment to stay in, but in order to get enough money to stay, they need to busk on the streets. Song fic, read and review please!
1. Run

**A/N: Hello everyone, and thank you for clicking on my lil' story here! I am quite proud of myself, as I have managed to produce this on the same day as I wrote my epilogue to my ShiYori fic, The Six Matchmakers. I guess I'm just having an inspiration rush. This is probably going to be quite a dark fic, but there'll hopefully also be some humour etc, so I didn't know what to put in the second genre section. Never mind!**** This is a very long chapter for me, and it isn't even that long****, so don't go expecting huge enormous chapters from me****. Don't get me wrong, I love long chapters, but I'm not very good at writing them. I tend to lose the plot. As I am doing with this A/N. I should probably shut up now... XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or and of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite. Who is awesome. And I don't own Run by Leona Lewis, either. Just so ya know!**

Run

"_I'll sing it one last time for you_

_Then we really have to go._

_You've been the only thing that's right_

_In all I've done..._

_..Louder, louder,_

_And we'll run for our lives_

_I can hardly speak, I understand_

_Why you can't raise your voice to say..._

Thirteen year old Matsumoto Rangiku ran through the door, past Gin, who was struggling to drag the box with their belongings into their new apartment. She stopped and exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow, Gin, it's amazing! A whole house for just us!"

"Heh. Not quite a house, Ran-chan, but I'm glad ya like it." Gin said, dropping the box and straightening up, his trademark grin all over his face.

"The manager who rented us this place was really stupid. I can't believe he fell for your fake adult voice!" Rangiku laughed, slightly drunk with happiness.

"Hey! That's mean, my adult voice isn't that bad. But, I must admit, he was quite dumb, not even askin' if he could see us before we rented it." chuckled Gin, opening the box again. "Come on, Ran-chan, at least help me unpack our stuff. That box was heavy!"

"It's tiny! All it has is our blankets, pillows, some food and the money we stole from the orphanage."

"Although my adult voice may be amazingly realistic, I'm afraid I still have the physique of a slightly malnutritioned thirteen year old boy." replied Gin, not embarrassed in the slightest. "Now help, please!"

"Fine, whatever." Rangiku said, rolling out the blankets. One of the bags of dried persimmons they had snaffled from the orphanage kitchen before they left rolled under a tatty chair that stood in the corner. Rangiku groaned and crawled over to reach under the chair and pull it out again. However, her hand met something large, spindly and hairy on the way. Rangiku shrieked when the huge spider ran over her hand to the other side of the room, causing Gin to rush over from the small kitchenette to see who was murdering her.

"Ran-chan! What happened?" he asked anxiously, his grin slipping a bit before promptly returning when he saw the spider Rangiku was cowering away from. "Come on, it's only a spider. I'll get rid of it for ya, don't worry." he soothed, scooping up the spider to Rangiku's whimpers and tossing it out of the window. "There, all gone! You okay?" he asked.

"Mm. But this place has too many bugs. I hate bugs, they're scary..." mumbled Rangiku, shivering with disgust at the thought.

"Think of it this way. There is no way that a couple of bugs could make this place worse than where we just came from, right?" said gin, crouching down in front of her and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah. Thanks for getting rid of the spider, Gin." Rangiku offered a weak smile. It was true. The orphanage was one of the worst places in the world for them. She still remembered the day she was brought there. Her mother had been an alcoholic, and her father on drugs. They'd beat her every day for the slightest of things: crying, sniffing, sometimes just for being around. She'd never tried to run away; the beatings would be so much worse when they caught her.

One day, her father had come back from a night with his 'workmates' completely high on drugs. Whereas some people would go off into their own blissful little world, Rangiku's father only became more violent when the evil concoctions were in his bloodstream. She remembered hearing him come in, cursing under his breath. She remembered putting her hands over her ears, trying to block out reality, trying to imagine nice parents, a father who had a normal job, a mother who did not die of liver failure after drinking herself into a stupor night after night. She remembered how her hands had been able to do nothing as her father had struck her again and again. She remembered the gun, but had no idea how he'd managed to get his hands on it, remembered the broken bottle lying on the kitchen table; a farewell present from her mother. Her father had thrown the bottle at her, right on her back, shredding it and leaving her with a permanent scar. She remembered flinching at the gunshot, waiting for more pain, but when nothing came, she had looked up, shaking, to see her father lying in a pool of his own blood, a bullet hole through his temple.

Rangiku had been found hours later by a couple out on a romantic walk as she lay in the gutter, covered in blood. After research on her family and remaining relatives, (of which there were none) she was sent to the orphanage. She'd hated that place from the bottom of her heart, but couldn't quite wish she'd never gone there. Quite apart from the fact that if she hadn't gone she'd almost definitely be dead, the orphanage was the place where she had first met Ichimaru Gin.

At first, she'd thought he was a mildly creepy boy with no friends to speak of, always smiling with that fox-face of his, but soon came to realise that the reason he was ostracised was because the rest of the children were little demons, not the other way round. So she had befriended Gin, although he was the one to take the first step, offering her a piece of candy he'd nicked from the fat boy he shared a room with. Soon, they became inseparable; the only thing keeping them sane was the other. After a month or so, she'd worked up the courage to tell him her story, expecting to be pushed away, but instead was met with his own. Gin had been found abandoned in a dustbin, so he'd told her, no parents or relatives in sight. He'd been at the orphanage ever since.

The other orphanage kids had not liked the pair; they were bullied, physically and mentally. When they appealed for help to the orphanage officials, they'd blown them off, stating that they had no time for silly childish games. Predictably, the bullying had eventually gotten unbearable. The little gang who had made their sole aim in life to make hers a misery were holding her by the hair, teasing her and asking if she wanted them to cut her face or her arms first. Gin had saved her, like the hero he was, but had received a serious cut to his upper arm. She bandaged it afterwards, hands shaking while tears streamed silently down her cheeks. Gin had lain on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling distractedly. After a few minutes, he'd turned to her and wiped the tears off her face with his good hand.

"_Let's run away, Ran-chan."_

...

It was only seven when the two decided to go to bed; they were very tired, having walked half-way across the city just to get there. They ate a supper of bread and persimmons in good cheer, the weight of living at the orphanage finally lifted off their shoulders. However, when the time came for them to roll up in their blankets and go to sleep, Rangiku vehemently refused to do so by herself.

"There are creepy bugs around!" she moaned.

"Oh, come on then." said Gin, tutting and lifting up his blanket so she could crawl in as well. She snuggled closely up to Gin's chest, wrapping her thin arms around his waist. The last thing she felt before she fell asleep was the soft stroking of Gin's hand on her hair.

"Sleep well, Ran-chan."

**A/N: Oh dear. A little bit darker than I would have liked, but it kinda sets the scene. Now that's out of the way, lets love on to some romance! WOOOO! Don't get your hopes up quite yet, though, I'm not sure when I'm actually going to introduce the lurve yet, but reviews always help me along my way! (I'm shameless, I know...) :P **

**Please tell me whether you liked this or not! I have never written a GinRan before, and this is only my third fic! Tips and suggestions are highly welcomed! xx**


	2. Breakaway

**A/N: Yep, I am definitely on an inspration roll here! 3 updates in a row! This doesn't usually happen, sorry, but I do have some very nice reviews/favourites already, which makes me v. v. happy! Thank you very very much to:**

**the anonymous reviewer who warmed my heart**

**the fantabulous chesxca**

**splitheart1120**

**and cumbersmerch! I am veryyy gratefull to all of you for reviewing/favouriting so quickly, and well done to all of you! *beams insanely and hands out jumbo sized cyber cookies***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite and his awesome manga! I don't own Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson or the movie Valentine's Day! Both of which are also awesome, btw...**

Breakaway

"_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly_

_I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky..."_

The morning after they arrived at their new accommodation, Rangiku and Gin were sitting at the small, shabby table in the kitchenette, munching on dry, stale cereal. Despite this, for Rangiku, it was one of the happiest meals of her life; she was well-slept, with Gin and _free_. Rangiku smiled into her bowl.

"Why d'ya look so happy, now? Could it be the wonders of this delicious gourmet cereal we're chokin' down?" Gin asked sarcastically, finishing off his own breakfast.

"Do I need a reason to smile? And anyway, the cereal isn't that bad." Rangiku chucked a handful at his head, just to make a point.

"Nah. Just wonderin'. Smiles suit ya, Ran-chan." said Gin, giving her an excellent example of his own.

Rangiku leaned back slightly. "Well, they don't suit you. You look...really creepy, Gin."

"Thanks." They sat in companionable silence as Rangiku finished her cereal, chasing it down with a swig of water. Gin rested his elbows on the table. "Hey, Ran-chan, d'ya think we should enrol at the local school? It ain't too far away."

"What? Are you serious? Wait, don't even answer that. No, Gin, I don't think we should. Why are you even asking?"

"Well, I thought maybe ya'd like to..." Gin trailed off. "Why don't ya wanna go? Just curious, I'm not forcin' ya or nothin'."

Rangiku started counting on her fingers. "Well, for a start, I could never be bothered with school anyway. And the teacher's would keep asking whether everything was OK at home because we'd come to school with gross clothes 'cos we don't know how to use the washing machine yet and Parents' Evening would be hella complicated 'cos neither of us could possibly pose as the other's parent and-"

"OK, OK, Ran-chan, I get it. 'S just, if ya wanted to go, we could think of somethin'."

"Well, I don't want to go. Do you?"

"_Hell_ no! I can't sit still and listen to save my life. You know that, Ran-chan." Gin emphatically refused.

Rangiku frowned in confusion. "So why were you asking, then?"

"I didn't want ta make ya feel like ya couldn't have an education an' all that." Gin admitted, looking away.

"Awwww! Gin, That's so cute! I didn't know you cared that much! Well, I did, but I didn't expect you to go to all this trouble!"

"Yeah, yeah. But, ya know, if we don't go to school, we'll have ta fill our free time with jobs anyway. We have ta pay the rent for this dump, remember." he said, patting the table.

"Right, I know...but how are we going to get jobs? We've never worked before in our lives, and we're only thirteen. No guy in his right mind would hire us!"

"Nah, there are some jobs we can legally get. Like, I could do a paper-round, and you could babysit." Gin shrugged.

"Who's gonna hire me to babysit their spawn?" Rangiku asked sceptically.

"That's exactly what yer gonna find out, Ran-chan! Here, you write an advert for the corner shop notice board, an' I'll find out how the hell I'm supposed to get a paper-round."

"What do I write?"

"Figure it out with that pretty head o' yers." Gin smirked over his shoulder, exiting the room.

"Where are you going?"

"Ta find my clean shirt. Gotta look presentable if I'm gonna try an' get hired."

"Gin...you look fine." Rangiku reassured him, exasperated. "Now, I'll write this stupid thing, then we can go to the corner shop and you can sign up. Just make sure it's not too early, or I'll murder you."

"That's very consolin'. Are ya done yet?"

Rangiku's eyebrow twitched. "I haven't even started yet! Give me some breathing space, God!"

Gin chuckled and walked out of the room. Rangiku stuck two fingers up at his back, scowling. They were very much like brother and sister, she supposed. They loved each other a lot and stuck up for each other, but they fought a lot too. But never anything too serious. Gin just liked irritating her a bit too much.

Rangiku scrawled down an ad on a small bit of scrap paper, making sure to add her phone number and fake surname. Didn't want the orphanage after them so quickly. Just as she put her pen down, Gin came back through the doorway, wearing a clean shirt and his trademark creepy smile.

"Don't grin like that when they're giving you the once-over, it's enough to make a full-grown man start bawling." Rangiku ribbed him, knowing it would do nothing to make him cut it out. "Come on, Gin, let's go!" She was quite excited about this after all. She loved children.

It wasn't a very long walk to the shop, and when she got there, it only took a few minutes for Rangiku to ask the assistant if she could stick up a notice and pin it to the board. She had to wait outside the manager's door for about ten minutes while Gin got briefed about the round, so she leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.

"I like that ceiling too. Very minimalistic an' all." came a voice right next to her ear. Rangiku jumped before turning round and grabbing her 'attacker's' ear.

"Gin! What the hell, you terrified me!" she said, tears of fright in her eyes. There was _no _way in hell she was telling him she'd thought for a second he was an orphanage official. But, because it was Gin, he didn't have to tell her. He put a hand on her arm, rubbing soothing circles into her tense shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry, Ran-chan. Couldn't resist, you know me." he said, offering her the timid smile that only she knew.

"Too right I do. Just don't do that again, at least not for a while. I need to calm down from the whole orphanage escape thing first." she said, taking deep breaths and releasing his ear. He pulled her into a hug for a few seconds, then stepped back, saying, "We should probably get goin'. There's another idea I had that I want ya ta hear."

"OK." said Rangiku, allowing him to guide her to the door by her hand. When they were outside, she turned to him. "What's your idea?"

"Well, my paper round's only for two days a week and yer not goin' ta get babysitting every night, so there's no way we're gonna get enough ta pay the rent with those."

"I was thinking that. So?" she prodded, knowing Gin liked an audience for his 'amazing brain waves'.

"So, I thought, you have a good voice, I ain't half bad at the guitar, we could busk down in the square!" It was obvious to Rangiku he was proud of his idea.

"Uh, Gin, don't you have to get a licence for those kind of things? And how would that earn us enough to live on, even with the jobs?"

"Pfft. Who cares about the police? We see an officer comin', we'll scarper, an' no one gets those crappy licences, anyway. And I think yer'll be surprised ta see how much we can get. We just need the right place, the right audience and the right time." He made it sound so simple. Well, he was nothing if not an excellent salesperson-of-ideas.

"OK, I'll bite. We are you going to get a guitar?"

"I'll ask the nice ol' lady who runs the music shop round the corner to give me a crappy one that no one wants or somethin'."

"And she'll give it to you?" Rangiku was sceptical again.

"Unlike what ya seem ta think, Ran-chan, I _can _do quite a charmin' smile."

"Sure...just don't give her a heart-attack." She rolled her eyes, grinning in excitement. She'd always loved singing, and an audience made things even better, let alone the money! This was definitely one of Gin's better ideas.

"See ya at the square in a quarter of an hour. Don't get lost." he reminded her. Bastard. He knew she had a crap sense of direction.

...

"Ran-chan! Over here!" Gin yelled, waving at her from the other side of the square. While Gin had gone to beg a guitar off the 'nice ol' lady', Rangiku had skipped back to their apartment to grab two bottles of water, a stool for Gin, and his old cap for tips.

"Well? Did you manage to get one?" she asked, beaming at him from under her strawberry-blonde locks.

"Yep. Took a while, though. The 'nice ol' lady' ain't so nice after all. But she did give me one in the end. Had a coupl'a strings missin', though, so I had ta buy some."

"...This is getting really expensive." Rangiku visibly deflated.

"Hey, hey, we'll earn it back, yer'll see! Don' worry yer pretty little head!"

"Gin! You sound like a perverted old man!" she laughed, slapping him upside the head. "Where do we put all this stuff?"

"Here'll do. Rush hour's in a coupl'a minutes, so we'll haf'ta hurry." Gin stooped down to arrange the stool.

"'Kay!" Rangiku was excited about singing to the audience. But—"Aah! Gin! What are we gonna play?" she panicked.

"Ah. Hadn't thought about that." he straightened up, his face blank.

"_Gin!_" Rangiku was getting pissed off.

"Meh. We may as well do yer favourite. It's our first time an' all, and it's a song full o' hope, not meanin' ta sound poetic or anythin'."

"My favourite? Really?" Rangiku's beam almost threatened to crack her face in two.

"Uh. Yeah, sure. No need ta look so happy..." Gin faked a nervous look, edging away from her.

"When can we start?"

"I'm ready. Have ya been warmin' yer voice up?" he smirked.

"Wha—_no_! Crap, this is a disaster, what are we gonna—Gin, are you pulling my leg?" she broke off from her panicking to give him a look.

"Why would I do that? I'm sure it'll be fine, just sing as loud as ya can, 'K?"

"OK. Wait, do you even know the chords for my favourite song?"

"There are a lot of things I can do Ran-chan."

"Right. That was creepy too, Gin."

"Hm. OK, here they come, let's start!" Gin alerted her to the mass of people coming towards them on their lunch break.

"I'm ready." Rangiku took a deep breath while Gin started playing the familiar chords. When it was her cue, she straightened her back, and started singing.

"_Grew up in a small town,_

_And when the rain would fall down_

_I'd just stare out my window._

_Dreaming of what could be,_

_And if I'd end up happy,_

_I would pray._

_Trying hard to reach out,_

_But when I tried to speak out_

_Felt like no-one could hear me._

_Wanted to belong here,_

_Something felt so wrong here._

_So I prayed I could break away._

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,_

_I'll do what it takes 'till I touch the sky._

_Make a wish, take a chance, make a change._

_And break away._"

Rangiku sang as loud as she could, filling up the square with her voice. After the first chorus, people started noticing them. By the time she got to the bridge, there was a large crowd of people around them, all elbowing each other and whispering about 'incredibly talented kids'. When she finished singing and Gin played the last chord, the square erupted in applause, coins flying into Gin's cap from all directions. Gin bowed and smiled, helping Rangiku scrape up the money and store it in a plastic bag he'd brought along. When they'd done that, they quickly discussed what other songs to do next, and started performing a new song.

...

"Whew...that was insane! Unbelievable! Can we do this again tomorrow?" Rangiku burbled happily, dragging the heavy bag full of coins towards the door of their apartment.

"Sure, Ran-chan, after my paper round. But who knows, maybe yer'll have a call from some anxious clients whose regular babysitter has abandoned and are desperate for someone to take care of their offspring for 'em."

"Uh huh, sure." Rangiku rolled her eyes. She tipped out the bag onto the floor, and both their eyes widened when they saw how much money they'd managed to make.

"Holy crap! How much d'ya think that is, Rangiku? Yer better at countin' than I am." Gin breathed.

"I have no idea!" Rangiku squeaked, before beginning to sort out the money into countable heaps. Soon enough, she had a result.

"Jesus Christ, Gin, we have nearly forty pounds here!" she gasped in amazement.

"Well, that calls for a celebration! You relax here for a bit while I go down ta the shop an' get us somethin' special for supper!" Gin ruffled her hair as he walked past. When he reached the doorway, he turned around and addressed her again. "Oh, an' while yer at it, ya may as well find a good film fer us ta watch on that ancient telly over there. We can make a real occasion out of it." He offered her a wide grin before heading out.

Rangiku waved at his retreating back before flicking on the television and scrolling down the menu. She wondered for a minute how Gin had managed to get an apartment with this many luxuries for the small amount he had. However, all sane thoughts were banished from her head as she found a movie she had seen adverts for on the walls of the cinema down the road from the orphanage. She'd wanted to watch this for ages! Eagerly, she took note of the time and channel. Then, she switched off the TV and started preparing plates, glasses and cutlery for their celebratory meal.

About twenty minutes later, Gin came back with their supper. It was cold chicken, crispy bread and salad, with pomegranate juice to have with it. Rangiku's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Yay! This is going to be brill! I'll get some persimmons out of the cupboard as well!" she said, rushing off.

Gin chuckled, setting down the food. "So, Ran-chan, what have ya chosen fer us ta watch tonight?"

"_Valentine's Day_. It looks brilliant!"

"...Romance? Really? Ah, who cares? I don't mind what we watch." Gin said, squatting down on the floor and dividing the food onto the two plates.

"Cool! Well, it should be starting right about now. Let's eat!" she said enthusiastically, tucking in.

They watched the film until it was dark outside, Rangiku laughing pretty much non-stop, and Gin rolling his eyes and snacking on persimmons. When the credits were rolling up the screen, he shuffled over to behind Rangiku and looped his arm loosely around her waist.

"Are ya tired now? I'm goin' ta bed; gotta get up at the crack o' dawn tomorrow." he said into her ear, his head resting on her shoulder.

"OK! I am quite tired actually. I think I'll hit the sack too. You sure are feeling cuddly today, aren't you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Mm hm. Ran-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Do ya ever feel lonely? Now it's just us?"

"What? No, of course not! I have you! You're my best friend!" she laughed, a little bit confused at his question.

"Hmm...do ya ever wish ya had more friends? Other than me, I mean." he asked, his face still buried in the crook of her neck.

"Huh? Why are you asking all of these questions anyway? Ah, well. Other friends would be nice, I guess, but as long as I have you, I don't really care either way. Happy? Now stop talking about such depressing stuff, or I'll tickle you 'til you cry!" she threatened jokingly. He backed away from her so quickly he fell over.

"No. No ticklin'. _At all_." he demanded, still crawling away backwards.

"Calm down! I was joking! You are way too ticklish for your own good." she laughed.

"I know." he admitted, returning to his position hugging her.

"Uh...Gin? Why are you hugging me so much tonight? Do _you _feel lonely?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"No, not really. Just a lil' bit anxious, is all. Nothin' ta worry about, I'm just bein' silly." he reassured her, patting her head.

"What are you worried about?"

"Nothin' much. Just that yer'll get bored of me one day and move out or somethin'. Dumb, I know."

"Yeah, Gin, really dumb! I'm never going to get bored of you! Now, stop worrying."

"Thanks, Ran-chan..." he mumbled into her hair, making her shiver slightly. She cleared her throat. "Uh, Gin, are you going to let go of me any time soon?"

"No."

"..."

They spent the rest of the night curled up on the floor together, slightly chilly from the lack of blankets, but neither of them caring enough to move.

**A/N: Well, there you have it! Very, very long for me, this was going to be two separate chapters, but I got confused and couldn't be bothered to redo it all. Oh, and I also couldn't be bothered to check for any typos, so v. v. sorry for grammatical errors etc. I'm very lazy, which is why I usually do quite small chapters, but oh well! I hope you don't mind! **

**I always imagined that Gin and Rangiku were the cuddling type when they were younger; I don't know why! Also, I think that Gin wasn't always such a heartbreaker with his disappearing acts and so forth, so in this fic, he's going to be ever so slightly more faithful. Sorry for anyone who doesn't think of him in that way, but I guess you could try to ignore that aspect of this...please? Oh, and don't worry, he won't always be as pathetic as he was in the last bit of this chapter, he was just feeling slightly insecure for reasons that will come to light in following chapters! *mooahahaha!* If ya'll have any requests for songs in this fic, feel free to ask, and I'll try my hardest to fit them in somehow! Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!**


	3. Hot 'n Cold

**A/N: Oh. My GOD THIS UPDATE TOOK AGES! I'm sooo sorry, school just killed me! Well, either way, it's finally here, and I really love this chapter...lololol! Don't worry, I won't spoil it for y'all! XD**

**An awesome response to the last chapter, thank you hugely to...**

**chesxca**

**splitheart1120**

**angelprincess ino**

**sylar1610**

**and, last but not least, dragonballzlover2499! I sincerely hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last! Not much romance, but fluff in every chapter would bit a bit of overkill, I think...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to the amazing Kubo Tite! Hot 'n Cold by Katy Perry is not mine either, no matter how much I wish the opposite was true...*sniff***

Hot 'n Cold

Exactly one week after their first busking spree, Gin and Rangiku were counting their earnings.

"Jesus, Gin! We've made a killing!" Rangiku exclaimed happily. "This is easily enough to keep us going for a month or two!"

"Yeah, it's yer singin' voice, ya know. Reels 'em in like nothin' else." Gin grinned at her.

Rangiku beamed. "Naw...thanks, Gin! But seriously, you're guitar-playing is awesome!"

"I know."

"Uhhh, Gin? That's not really the normal answer..." Rangiku said, trying to keep from laughing.

"Yeah? Well, whatever. I gotta get to my paper round, see ya, Ran-chan!"

"Bye! And don't let the manager cheat you again!" Rangiku warned.

"I won't." came the distant reply. Gin was already out of the door.

Rangiku sighed. She hated the mornings when Gin had work. It was so boring; she never had anything to do.

She flicked on the TV, surfing the channels until she found something that looked acceptable. She settled down and watched about twenty minutes of the soap, then turned it off. It was no use. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had whenever she was alone, the sort of...empty sensation.

Suddenly, a shrill ringing from the telephone announced that someone was calling the apartment. Rangiku jumped, then hurried over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"_Ah, hello, is this Matsumoto-san?_" came the voice from the other end of the line.

"Yes, can I help you?" inquired Rangiku, smiling. It must be a baby-sitting client.

"_Well,__ I saw your advert in the corner shop, and I was wondering if you could look after my son for tonight? I'm sorry it's such short notice, but our regular suddenly had a family crisis and had to move away. Do you think you can make it?_" the voice asked slightly frantically.

"Yes, of course. What time am I coming?" Rangiku could feel the excitement building. She had a job!

"_Seven to eleven, please. Is that alright?_"

"Yes, fine! And your address?"

"_Seven Pine Apartments, Floor 5, Room 15."_

Ah. That was two floors above where she was right now.

_Oh bugger, _thought Rangiku, _this could lead to complications with my living arrangements and all._

"_Dear? Are you alright?" _asked the voice, slightly worried at the long silence.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Zoned out. Floor 5, was it?"

"_That's right, dear. I'll see you there!" _the voice said.

"Bye!" chirped Rangiku before hanging up. She had a job! Well, at least her morning would go better now.

...

Gin was only slightly surprised that, when he entered their little apartment, Rangiku pounced on him, squeezing him tightly in a rather violent Hug of Death.

"Uh...hey, Ran-chan!" he greeted. "What's all this about, then?"

"Oh, sorry!" apologized Rangiku, backing off and fiddling with her hair in slight embarrassment. "I'm just so excited!"

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Why, may I ask?"

"I got a phone call while you were out this morning. Someone wants me to babysit their spawn from seven 'til eleven tonight!" Rangiku bounced up and down in happiness.

"Tonight? That's a bit short notice, isn't it?"

"Well, their old one moved house. But isn't it great? I have a job!"

"Yeah, that's brill, Ran-chan! Glad yer so excited." enthused Gin, pulling her into a brief hug.

Rangiku bounced up and down. "This is gonna be awesome..."

"Uh...Ran-chan?"

"What is it, Gin?"

"What if the kid's a brat?"

"...That won't happen!"

…

_Rap rap!_ Rangiku knocked smartly on the door of Room 15, Floor 5.

"Coming! Give me a minute!" came a voice from inside. She recognised it as the voice on the phone. After a few seconds, the door was pulled open, revealing a slightly frazzled-looking middle-aged lady with a posh handbag.

"Ah! Hello, dear, you must be Matsumoto-san!" she smiled.

"Oh, please, call me Rangiku!"

"Rangiku it is, then! You can call me Kotone!"

"Of course, Kotone-san! Are you going anywhere special tonight?" Rangiku asked out of courtesy rather than interest.

"Yes, my husband and I are going for a romantic meal in the city. It's been so long since we did something like that, children and all." At that point, a rather lanky man walked into the hallway. "Ah, Yuudai, there you are! We'll be going now, Rangiku. Our son is in the living room, just through there." she pointed to the door in question. "Now, I'll warn you, he can come across as a bit...cold at first, but I'm sure he'll come around in no time!" With that, the two rushed out the door, hand in hand. Rangiku smiled after them. They seemed so nice, this boy was incredibly lucky to have such a family...

Rangiku entered the living room and saw the TV was on. Her gaze drifted to the sofa, where a very small boy sat, completely engrossed in whatever was showing. Rangiku's eyes widened slightly.

_Omigod, his hair! It's so white! Is that natural? I guess it's not unheard of, it does look quite similar to Gin's after all..._

After a few moments, Rangiku managed to gather her thoughts enough to introduce herself. "Hello! My name is Matsumoto Rangiku! It's very nice to meet you!" she chirped, beaming.

The kid turned his head slightly in her direction. "Hitsugaya Toushiro." he stated, before turning his attention back to the screen.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. _Nice manners,_ she thought. Out loud, she said, "So...what do you want to do while I'm here?"

He turned to face her fully, looking more than a little irritated. "It's none of your business and you can stay the hell away from me." he growled, a huge frown on his face.

There was a long silence.

Suddenly, Rangiku walked up to the TV and switched it off. "If you think I'm going to let you be so rude to her for the whole night, you are very wrong indeed, Mister." she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Toushiro flicked it on again using the remote. "I will anyway." he stated calmly.

Rangiku unplugged the screen and put the lead on a high shelf. "Well, you aren't watching TV for a start; there's no way you're going to be able to reach that!"

Toushiro glared at her for a few seconds. Then, "You're the girl who was busking in the streets the other day."

Rangiku was flummoxed. "Wha—uh, no...I think you're mistaken."

He didn't look fooled.

"...Damn." she sighed.

"I saw you move in two floors down last week with a really creepy looking guy with silver hair. Scary grin. No adults either." he rapped off with a blank expression. Man, for a little one, this kid was _good_!

Rangiku fell to her knees in front of the midget. "Oh, please please please don't tell anyone! Seriously, if you do, I'm screwed! We have nowhere else to go and we won't bother you at all and-"

"Okay, okay, geez!" Toushiro interrupted her, waving his hands in front of his face, "I won't tell anyone! But on one condition..."

"Anything!"

"You let me do whatever I want, whenever I want. And in repayment, as well as keeping your secret, I'll ask my parents to make you my regular babysitter."

"All right, I'll do all that. As long as you don't try to smoke drugs or anyth-" he interrupted her with an icy glare. "Yeah, I'll shut up now..."

_I can't believe this kid has turned into my boss... _she thought glumly.

…

Later that night, Toushiro was happily (for him) watching TV. Rangiku glanced at the clock. It was after ten; way past his bedtime, she bet.

"Um...don't you think you should go to bed now?" she asked tentatively. Somehow, this boy had turned her into a submissive underling.

"Yeah, whatever. May as well." Toushiro surprised her by saying. He left the room to go get changed, and after a few minutes called her up.

"What is it?" she asked gently, peeking in through his door. His room was really surprisingly neat for a pre-teen male.

"Uh...well, I was wondering if you could...ahem...turn of my light for me?" Toushiro asked, his face turning redder each passing moment.

"Sure. Good night, Toushiro-kun." she said, flicking the switch.

"It's Hitsugaya-san to you." he glared at her. Rangiku laughed before exiting the room, shutting the door behind her. Maybe babysitting this kid wasn't going to be so bad after all.

When Rangiku went downstairs, she noticed a radio sitting on the windowsill of the living room. She switched it on and tuned it to a station she remembered Gin saying was good. A song came on that she knew, recognised, and somehow felt fit the situation she was in perfectly.

"_You change your mind like a girl changes clothes..._

_'Cos you're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no,_

_You're in then you're out, you're up then you're down..."_

**A/N: Ha ha, even in a parallel universe, Toushiro's still the one in charge! Poor Rangiku, lol! Although, I think she's warming to him a little bit...he is very very cute after all! *goes into squealing fangirl mode***

**Hope you guys liked it, and if anyone has any requests for future chapters, I'm open to suggestion! I actually have no idea how this is going to end, I usually just make it up as I go along. It will have a happy ending, though! I can assure you that! I hate tragedy...*cries* I'm a complete wimp.****..**_  
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	4. Cry

**A/N: Hey, a quicker update this time! Although, it's only because I'm sick, and not in school, and bored. So I wrote! I probably should be preparing for my English Assessment coming up next week, but...nah. Boring. And technically, this is English, right? So, anyhoo, I was so so so so so happy with the response to the last chapter! Thank youuuuu! I'm so glad you guys like it! *cries***

**Anyway, these are the people who reviewed/favourited. Worship them, guys!**

**chesxca**

**dragonballzlover2499**

**angelprincess ino**

**hopelessromantic1470**

**splitheart1120 **

**and...metsfan101! So grateful to all of you, thanks so much! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo-sensei! I also don't own Cry by Rihanna, which doesn't actually have much to do with this chappie, but the few lines I wrote down there kind of explain Rangiku's state of mind, for reasons to be revealed! =D  
><strong>

Cry

"_My mind is gone,_

_I'm spinning round._

_And deep inside,_

_My tears, I'll drown."_

Rangiku padded over the bare floorboards on her way to the kitchen, still half asleep. She'd barely got any rest last night, as a result of the cold weather and the cold she caught from it, and had still been asleep when Gin had gone to his paper round. Again. It felt to Rangiku like he was always out of the house these days. She missed him. Everything was boring without his creepy grin.

She dragged herself blearily into the kitchen, rummaging around in the cupboards for a mug and a teabag. When she found them, she flicked the kettle on and waited for it to boil. While the water bubbled away happily, she collapsed onto a chair next to the table and attempted to keep her eyes open until her dosage of caffeine was ready. The kettle clicked off, alerting her to the fact the water was ready, and she poured herself a mug-full and chucked the teabag in. She poked it for a bit, then got bored and threw it in the trash. She spooned in way too much sugar than was good for her, blew the steam away, and took a good, long slurp, paying no attention to the scalding temperature of the liquid. What time was it now? Not long before eleven, she reckoned, judging from the amount of light dripping into the damp room. She looked at the radio clock. Hey, 10:30, she was up earlier than expected. Gin should be back soon, she noted with a pleased expression.

As if hearing her thought, the door creaked open and the sound of someone coming in was heard. They brushed off their shoes and then—nothing. Huh. Gin would've usually called to her by now, to tell her he was home.

"Gin?" she tried, picking up her mug of tea and carrying it with her to the door of the kitchen. "Gin? That you?" she called again. Then, she gasped, dropping the mug and leaving it to crash to the floor.

Gin stood, leaning his full weight on the door, head tilted back, looking incredibly pale and sickly. A light sheen of sweat was prominent on his waxen face, giving him the look of someone dying from an extremely painful disease in hospital.

_Gin does _not _get sick!_ Rangiku thought, before rushing over and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Ohmigod, Gin, are you all right?"

Gin took in a rasping breath. "I'm—cough—fine, Ran-cha..." He passed out on her shoulder.

_Yeah, fine my ass._ Rangiku thought, fuming. This was all they needed. Then her anger quickly turned into panic as she remembered the boy in her arms. She tried to drag him over to his blanket on the floor, and on failing that, brought the blanket to him, adding hers for good measure. Christ, he really did look ill. She tucked him up in the blankets, trying not to hyperventilate when she thought about all the horrible illnesses he could have contracted out in the cold damp. She should have stopped him going to work so much, there was no way it was healthy.

Her terrifying reverie was interrupted by the sound of Gin stirring. She quickly bent over him, putting her face near his and whispering, "Gin? Are you awake?"

"Hm? Ah, yeah. What happened?" he asked, still quite out of it.

"What happened? You friggin' passed out, that's what happened! _Never _do that to me again!" Rangiku's previous fury made a reappearance.

"Heh...sorry, Ran-chan. It's not like I can help it, ya know." Gin chuckled weakly, dispelling her rage.

"Gin...I—Are you—I..." Rangiku finally choked up with sobs, lowering her head. Gin's eyes shot open, revealing ice blue, before he struggled into a sitting position and took her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Ran-chan! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean ta make ya cry!" he said hoarsely, rocking her back and forth. She clung to his shirt, struggling to get the words out.

"No, Gin, it's not you...It's just, I—I don't know what to do, Gin, we can't afford a doctor, and I have no idea what's wrong, and—"

"Shh, shh, Rangiku. It's okay, I'm fine." he lied, trying to reassure her.

"Not buying it, Gin." she sniffled, giving him a watery glare from under her lashes. He sighed in resignation and lay back again, too weak to hold himself up. Rangiku started tearing up again, before an idea hit her.

"Gin! Will you be okay for about five minutes? I think I know someone who can help!" she scrambled up and ran out of the door, not waiting for an answer.

"Uh..yeah..." Gin smiled, and tried to sort out the lump in his pillow.

...

_Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang ba—_

"Will you shut up? I'm freakin' coming already!" yelled an extremely irritated voice from the other side of the apartment door Rangiku was breaking down.

"_What?_" Toushiro demanded, wrenching the door open and fixing her with a terrifying glare that kind of lost its drama on a person of his height. His expression quickly softened into one of worry, though, when he saw the desperate face he was met with.

"Matsumoto? What's wrong?" he inquired, surprised at seeing his babysitter again, less than a week after he'd met her for the first time.

"It's Gin. You know, the boy you saw me moving in with? The one with the creepy grin? Yeah, well, he's sick. Like, really sick, and I don't know what to do and he looks like he's gonna die any second and we can't afford a doctor and—"

"You're babbling, Matsumoto."

"...Sorry." No questions about who was still in charge here, then.

Toushiro sighed and leant against the door post, running a hand through his snowy hair. "My father is a doctor. I can't make any promises, but I may know what's wrong with your friend. Don't get your hopes up, though." he said hurriedly, seeing her joyful expression.

"I won't!" she sang cheerily, proving Toushiro's suspicion that it was a bit too late to dissuade her. "Follow me! We live down there!" She grabbed the hand of the smaller boy, who, she'd found out with surprise on her babysitting night, was only a few years younger than her. She'd thought at first his parents must be crazy, hiring her to look after him, considering how young she was herself, before remembering she'd said she was fifteen on the advert she posted.

Rangiku paused halfway down the steps. "Hang on a sec. Won't your parents mind? You haven't told them where you're going."

"Meh. They're at work, and even if they were here, they wouldn't care. I can take care of myself." he waved off the concern nonchalantly.

"...Sure. But, wait! Aren't you supposed to be in school?" she realised, eyes widening.

"Faked sick. School's pointless anyway. The teachers are all morons." he deadpanned. She raised an eyebrow, but quickly started pulling him down the stairs again upon remembering Gin.

"In here!" she announced, pointing at said door.

"Right." said Toushiro, pushingit open. Rangiku had to hand it to him, the kid had good self-control. Didn't even flinch at the sight of the less-than-pristine state of their apartment. Her eyes strayed from the grimy carpet to the surprised Gin, who was still lying on the floor.

"Uh...Ran-chan? When ya said ya knew someone who could help, I didn't think ya were gonna fetch a kid." he said, receiving a glare from Toushiro as a result.

"Nah! He's like, a super-genius! And he said he can help, so stop being rude!" Rangiku said cheerily, smacking him lightly on the head.

"Might, I said, _might_." Toushiro muttered, walking over to where Gin lay and eyeing him. "Don't try to bite me." he warned.

"What? Why would I do that?" Gin was slightly concerned about this obviously insane midget advancing on him. Still, he lay quiet while Toushiro felt his forehead and checked his ears for inflammation.

"Well? What's wrong with him?" Rangiku asked anxiously.

"Nothing too bad. He's got a fever. Quite a bad one, but if you go get some medicine from the store, it shouldn't get worse." Toushiro informed her, standing up again.

"Oh, thank goodness! But, we can't afford medicine!" she remembered, "That stuff's expensive!"

"For the love of God..." Toushiro grumbled, fishing in his pocket for a few notes and shoving them at her, saying, "It's not too much, so you don't have to bother paying me back."

"Thank you, Toushiro-kun!" she sang much more happily, before dancing out of the door to buy the medication.

"It's Hitsugaya-san!" he called to her retreating back. When the only answer that came was a peal of laughter, he sighed and turned to Gin. They glared at each other for a couple of minutes before Gin sighed and said, "I suppose I should say thank you. Ya didn't haf'ta help Rangiku, and ya definitely didn't haf'ta give us money. So thanks."

_Hey, the creep's not so bad after all, _Toushiro thought, before saying out loud, "It's okay, I guess."

...

Rangiku came back from the store in record breaking time, dosed Gin up and pulled the blankets up to his chin when he fell asleep. She then turned to Toushiro, who was getting ready to leave.

"Thank you." she smiled at him.

"'S alright." he muttered before exiting the apartment.

Rangiku chuckled at his 'tough guy' façade before turning back to Gin and mopping his face with the damp washcloth she'd fetched from the bathroom. Was it her imagination, or was Gin looking better already?

He stirred slightly at the cool material, before opening his eye a crack and whispering, "Thanks, Ran-chan," and slipping back to sleep.

Rangiku leaned over and kissed his too-hot forehead. "No problem."

**A/N: Naw...how cute! Just so you guys know, that was an innocent kiss, as a friend! WAY too early for them to fall in love yet, I think! I don't want this to be a short fic. I'm trying for at least ten chapters, but I'm running out of inspiration, so any ideas you guys have for later chapters are very much appreciated! And, as you can probably guess, I completely adore Shiro-chan, so he will be making appearances in this story quite often, if I can think of a plot that includes him. Just so you Shiro-lovers out there know that... =P**


	5. Hallelujah

**A/N: Oh dear. This update is later-than-late, and it isn't even a long one! I'm sooo sorry guys! But, I do like this chapter. Gin POV, yayayay! And, it's quite important too. So don't try and strangle me with my own scarf yet, please people! I give you full permission after you've read! (and maybe reviewed?) :P**

** The lyrics of this song don't really have anything to do with the going-ons in this chapter, but I think the mood of it suits it perfectly, hope ya'll agree with lil' old me! And, just freaked out slightly, 'cos I remembered how many reviews and favourites I got for this chapter! Seriously, like, a million! (Well, maybe not _quite_ that much...)**

**Anyways, thank you v. v. much to...**

**kyurikochan**

**chesxca**

**splitheart1120**

**Jurgen8r**

**MemeLee**

**angelprincess ino**

**dragonballzlover2499**

**Rainbow Fruit Loop**

**and...iris129! See, loads!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite, the Awesome One. I also do not own the song Hallelujah by...Leonard Cohen? Can't be bothered to look it up, but I think that's right.  
><strong>

Hallelujah

"_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelujah."_

Gin was sitting in the ratty old armchair in the living room with his guitar, scribbling out guitar chords for the song Rangiku wanted to sing at the weekend. Unfortunately, there was one chord in the bridge that just didn't sound right. Gin sighed, ran a hand through his hair and repositioned his guitar. He started strumming gently, careful not to be too loud, lest he wake Rangiku up from her slumber in the floor. He probably shouldn't have been practising at five in the morning, but whatever.

Gin muttered to himself as he reached the section that was giving him trouble. "C, F, G, A minor, F, G, A minor, F, then _what?" _he whisper-shouted, frustrated. He plucked out a few more arpeggios, none of which fit, then gave up and leaned back in his seat. "Better take it from the top." he decided.

He strummed out the introduction, then took a breath and started singing, oh so softly.

"_I've heard there was a secret chord, _

_That David played and it pleased the Lord,_

_But you don't really care for music, do you?_

_It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth,_

_The minor fall, and the major lift,_

_And the baff—" _he broke off as a wrong chord filled the air, ruining themagic of the music. Gin groaned.

"It ain't goin' right! Nothin' works!" He finally gave up and glanced over at where Rangiku lay, her hair fanned out over the pillow.

'_She looks like a princess,' _he thought before he could stop himself. Then, in his mind, he heard her voice.

"_What do you think you're doing, Gin? You can't give up now, that sounds amazing! Look, all you have to do is try all the chords there are, one after the other! You'll get there eventually, you know that!"_

Gin chuckled quietly. Yeah, that was exactly what she'd say. He looked over at where his guitar lay, abandoned, and shook his head, smiling at himself. _'I must be goin' crazy.' _he thought.

He picked up the guitar again and started to play, looking at his little sleeping princess all the while. He floated through the first verse and when he reached the awkward part in the bridge, he closed his eyes and just let the music lift him up on its wings. Miraculously, the chord came out perfectly and Gin continued to the chorus.

'_So it was G after all...' _he mused lazily, cracking his eyes open again and smiling fondly over at Rangiku. He played the song right to the end, imagining Rangiku's high soprano filling in over his husky tenor.

When the last chord rang out of his guitar, he leaned the instrument against the wall and crawled over to where his best friend slept. She had a part of her fringe in her face again; she was constantly complaining about it, but Gin refused to let her cut it off. Grinning to himself, he smoothed it out away from her features, leaving them bare to his gaze. She shifted then, turning her head slightly into his head, mumbling, "Gin..."

He held his breath, but let it out gently again when she produced a soft snore. She was still asleep. Focusing on her closed eyes, he marvelled at how the thick black lashes so perfectly brushed her smooth cheek, concealing the beautiful, blue-grey eyes that were so different to his own, yet so similar. His eyes widened as her lips parted gently.

'_God, she's beautiful.' _

Hesitantly, Gin leaned over her sleeping form, closer, closer, until his lips were hovering a breath away from her own. He paused, unsure. Was it fair? Should he do this? It was stealing, he knew that. Finally, he came to a decision and pulled away.

'_Nah, that's low, even for me. I wouldn't steal her first kiss without her even knowin' it. I'll get it fer real some day...' _he thought as he put away his guitar. Before he went to the kitchen to make a snack for her when she woke up, he bent down again swiftly, and planted a gentle, barely-there kiss on her cheek.

'_Yeah, some day.'_

__**A/N: Naw, Gin's inner working's are so sweet, huh? Way protective of _his_ Ran-chan! Sorry again about the tiny chapter, guys! Read & Review, s'il vous plait!  
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	6. Grenade

**A/N: Hey, everyone, a faster update this time, IT'S A MIRACLE! I'm really sick today, so this probably isn't very good, but I tried to make it a slightly longer one so ya'll know I'm not slacking off! Oh, and by the way, I know this is a faster update than normal, so you guys don't have as much time to review/favourite/whatever, but really, I got so few reviews, or anything really, for the last chapter, that I'm wondering if anyone cares at all. I do write this for the fun of it, but if I'm not getting any reviews, there's no point, is there, and I may discontinue. Right, now that's off my chest, I have to thank the beautiful lovely amazing fantastic people who did review, thanks all you guys, you make my day! xx**

**These are those said people:**

**chesxca**

**splitheart1120**

**and dragonballzlover2499! They're brill, but ONLY THREE? Really? I _know _there's more people than that reading this, I CHECKED! ME! THE COMPUTER-MORON!**

**Disclaimer: (spoiler in this, latest chapter of the manga!) I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to the ABSOLUTELY FANTABULOUS KUBO TITE! WHO I LOVE SOOOO MUCH, AS YUKIO LIVES! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *ahem* Sorry. I also do not own the amazing song Grenade by Bruno Mars.  
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Grenade

"_But darling, I'll still catch a grenade for ya,_

_Throw my hand on a blade for ya,_

_I'd jump in front of a train for ya,_

_You know I'd do anything for ya."_

Gin and Rangiku were right in the middle of the town central, busking their hearts out. Unfortunately, the public seemed to be in a rush today and weren't stopping to listen.

After about another ten more minutes of earning two yen an hour, Rangiku threw her hands up and exclaimed to gin, "This is pointless! What is wrong with these people!"

"I dunno…I think we're pretty good."

"I _know _we're _more_ than pretty good, but obviously _these _bastards don't!" Rangiku was getting slightly worked up.

Gin hurriedly dropped his guitar and put an arm round her before she started beating up a random passer-by for not listening to them. "Hey, hey, calm down Ran-chan. Ya know, we are here quite a lot these days. Maybe everyone's got a little bit bored."

"What? We've been working our butts off, and this is a good spot! We can't just _move_!"

"Yeah, I know, but we could try something different, like—"

"But we do loads of different genres! We even tried—"

"That's not what I mean, Ran-chan. I mean, yer guitar-playin's pretty good now, since I started teachin' ya, and though my voice ain't half as good as yours, I can still carry a tune."

Rangiku raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "So you're saying we should swap roles."

"Yeah, only for a bit, though. I don't think my vocal chords can take too much strain." Gin shrugged.

"O…kay…but my guitar-playing's not _that _good_._ I can only do simple chords!"

"You'll be fine, Ran-chan. I usually do chords anyway." Gin reassured her.

Rangiku was not reassured. "But that's because you're a lazy bum."

"Fair point, well made."

…

"No, Ran-chan! Your fingers go _here _for G minor." Gin corrected Rangiku's hold on the guitar strings.

"Ow_…ow, Gin what the hell do you think you're doing to my hand!_" Rangiku protested, ripping it out of his grasp and rubbing her over-stretched fingers. "That's impossible!"

Gin sighed. "Nah, it ain't Ran-chan. Just difficult if you don't put your thumb in the right place on the back of the neck."

"I can't do G minor, Gin." Rangiku deadpanned.

"Yes you can do G minor, Rangiku." Gin said sternly. Rangiku's eyes widened slightly at his use of her full name.

"Er, Gin? Don't you think you're taking this a little bit too seriously? Can't you just show me a shortcut or something? You say you use them all the time."

Gin ran a hand through his hair. "I guess, but it won't sound as good…"

"…I really don't care, Gin."

Rangiku allowed Gin to rearrange her fingers into a much more do-able position. "Ah, that's better!" she said, experimentally strumming the strings and listening in satisfaction to the chord that ensued.

"Whatever. Ya'd better get movin', or else everyone'll have gone by the time yer finished learnin' simple chords." Gin scowled.

Rangiku froze. Then, she exploded. "WHAT? I HAVE BEEN WORKING AS HARD AS I POSSIBLY CAN, GIN! YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND PATRONIZING ME LIKE THAT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT! YOU'VE BEEN ACTING LIKE A TOTAL ASSHOLE TODAY, YOU KNOW THAT?"

"Well, I could say the same for you." Gin retorted harshly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Hey, hey, kids, what's the matter? It's not nice to hear you guys yelling at each other when we're on our lunch-break, you know?" came a friendly voice from behind them.

The two spun around guiltily and came face-to-face with two men, around the age of thirty, although one already had snow-white hair. The one who had spoken now opened his mouth again.

"There, see? Now, why don't you two apologise to each other, kiss and make up?" he suggested. When met with two sets of raised eyebrows, he said, "Or not…"

"Come one, Shunsui, we can't just barge in on other peoples' conversations." the other spoke up, taking the arm of his companion and attempting futilely to pull him away from the two.

"No, Juushiro! I hate to see two such obviously good friends fight! They needed to stop before they ruined something beautiful!" Shunsui cried dramatically, clasping his hand to his chest.

The white-haired man smiled slightly. "…Right." he then turned to Gin and Rangiku, smiling kindly. "Sorry about that. My friend's a bit of a nosy parker. I'm Ukitake Juushiro, by the way. Nice to meet you both!" he introduced himself, sticking a hand out for them to shake. They shook it nervously, each in turn, while Rangiku cleared her throat and said, "Uh…hi, I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, and this is my friend Gin!"

"Ah, such lovely names! I am the one and only Kyoraku Shunsui, dearest children!" the other man said, kissing Rangiku's hand and shaking Gin's energetically.

Rangiku nervously cleared her throat again. They seemed nice enough. "Right…um, if you don't mind me asking, Kyoraku-san—"

"No, please! Call me Shunsui!"

"…O…kay, Shunsui-san, but, ah, why are you wearing a pink suit?"

There was a long silence. Suddenly, Ukitake burst out lauging.

"Hah! Ahaha! See, Shunsui? Even children have better fashion sense than you! Hahaha—cough cough cough _hack_!" he finished with a rather nasty-sounding choking. Rangiku's eyes bugged and she began to panic. Gin placed a reassuring hand on the small of her back as Shunsui patted his friend between the shoulders.

"Don't worry, kids! He'll be fine, he gets these little turns sometimes! It's the air, you know!" he smiled.

Finally, Gin spoke up. "Ah…I'm not sure if it'll help, but I have a cough sweet in my pocket…"

Juushiro's coughed slowed down and eventually he straightened up, obviously quite alright, and said, "No, thank you, Gin-kun, but I'm very grateful for your offer."

"That's all right…"

"So, anyway, children, why were you arguing?" Shunsui tried again.

"Shunsui! Leave the kids alone now; you look like a child-snatcher!" Juushiro reprimanded, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"No, it's all right, Ukitake-san. We were fighting because...uh…well…"

"Yes?" Shunsui prompted.

"Yeah, I actually have no idea why we were fighting. Do you, Gin?" Rangiku turned to her childhood friend.

"Nope. I guess it's just been a really bad day. So, we're fine, have a nice day!" Gin not-so-subtly waved them off. He'd always been much warier of strangers than Rangiku.

"Gin! That's so rude! I'm sure they mean well!" Rangiku scolded him.

"No, that's all right, Rangiku-chan," Gin visibly stiffened at the pet name. ", we are being rather strange. We'll go now! Make sure you too don't fight again, okay?" Shunsui called over his shoulder as Juushiro dragged him away, waving farewell at the two children.

They stood next to each other and watched them leave.

Rangiku turned to Gin. "Look, I'm sorry I over-reacted. You were right; I am really slow at learning chords."

"No, no, Ran-chan! It wasn't yer fault at all! It was all me. I shouldn't have been such an…asshole, you said, right?"

"Heh, yeah. Well, whatever. I'm sorry anyway." Rangiku said, pulling him into a hug which he reciprocated eagerly.

"Me too. I guess we have something to thank those two weirdos for huh?" Gin chuckled, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

"They weren't weirdos! They were just nice people! You're too suspicious Gin!"

"…I guess, but ya have ta admit, that guy in the pink suit _was _pretty weird!"

"Well…maybe just slightly…" Rangiku laughed, pulling away, to Gin's disappointment. "Come, on, are we gonna do this song or what?"

"Yeah, okay, Ran-chan! Hold yer horses!" Gin grinned. Rangiku looked at him in amazement. "What?"

"Gin, you—_smiled_!" Rangiku exclaimed, gobsmacked.

"Ran-chan, I smile all the time. You always complain about it, remember?"

"No, but you _really _smiled this time! It wasn't creepy! Well, not _much_…" she teased, picking up the guitar and positioning her fingers ready for the first chord. "Come on, let's do this thing!"

"Wait. Ran-chan?"

Rangiku looked up. "Yes, Gin?"

"I'd do anythin' fer ya. Ya know that, right? I'll always protect ya."

"…That's really random. Gin, for the last time, mildly crazy people are not always rapists! Kyoraku-san and Ukitake-san were just nice people!"

"But ya know I'll always protect ya?"

"Of course, Gin. Now, for the love of God, stop being so serious and start singing! I haven't heard your voice properly before!"

…

"_Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain,_

_Take a bullet straight through my brain!_

_Yes, I would die for ya, baby,_

_But you won't do the same."_

**A/N: I really like the ending to that one. It kinda puts a bittersweet twist from Gin's inner thoughts! He's really unsure of himself, deep down! Well, that's my interpretation of it anyway!**

**Now, everypeoples, please review, I don't really care what you say, as long as it isn't a flame, but I just really need to know if more than three (lovely amazing fantastic) people like this! Call me insecure, and you'll be right! I actually have no idea whether this is good or not...'n'  
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	7. Livin' On A Prayer

**A/N: YESSS, I got my first song request! And here it is! Credit for this song idea goes to the anonymous reviewer kitten, thanks so much, I had mild writers' block for this fic for a bit! Anyways, I didn't really pay much attention to the overall key of the song, as it's kinda...cheerful sounding, and only looked at the lyrics. Yeah...my interpretation, so no flames saying "That is completely not what this song is talking about!" please! :)**

**Anyway, I was very glad to see more reviews for the last chapter in my inbox, so I won't be discontinuing any time soon! (as long as the reviews keep coming MOOAHAHAHAHA!)**

**Here is everyone who reviewed/favourited:**

**kitten**

**dragonballzlover2499**

**angelprincess ino**

**sylar1610**

**splitheart1120**

**and StarGazeEyes! They are amazing, people, worship them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite, who _may _sell me Ulquiorra/Yukio/Shinji if I ask nicely enough...I also do not own the song Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi! xx  
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Livin' on a Prayer

"_We've got to hold on to what we've got,_

'_Cause it doesn't make a difference_

_If we make it or not._

_We've got each other and that's a lot._

_For love - we'll give it a shot."_

Gin glanced over at Rangiku, ever so slightly alarmed. She was head-banging rather violently to a loud song that had just come on over the radio.

"Uh…Ran-chan? What are ya doin'?"

"Duh! Raving!" she replied enthusiastically.

"Right…Why?"

"It's fun! You should join in!" she laughed, grabbing his hands and spinning him round and round in circles, carefully avoiding the table. She only laughed harder when she saw the bemused expression on Gin's face.

"Hah! Gin, you look like a…a…I dunno what you look like, but it's hilarious!"

"Rangiku. Answer me truthfully. How much chocolate have ya eaten today?" Gin asked seriously.

"Not _that _muc—woaah!" Rangiku shrieked as she tripped over a chair leg. She went crashing to the floor, closing her eyes and waiting for the impact with the cold tiled floor. But it never came.

She opened her eyes to see Gin's face filling her vision. He had her arms wrapped round her in a tight embrace, holding her to his chest.

"Ya should be more careful, Ran-chan." he whispered into her ear, his breath ghosting over her skin. Rangiku shivered.

Gin hoisted Rangiku onto her feet and grinned at her. "Ya could hurt yerself, ya know?"

"Yeah...thanks, Gin." Rangiku said, still shaken.

"No problem, Ran-chan."

…

Gin sighed. Now, if he was a nice person, he wouldn't care if Rangiku reciprocated his feelings for her. But, as most people knew, has was most definitely _not _a nice person. And he did care. He cared a lot. So, whenever he had the chance, he would do all short of forcing himself on her. And the infuriating thing was, she barely seemed to notice.

Gin chuckled bitterly. She was so naïve. How could she not see how frickin' _irresistible _she was! It took all of his willpower not to just-

Anyway. Gin sighed, rubbing his temples. All he could do was pray to whatever God existed that she'd come to love him as well. As soon as possible, or his self-control was going to shatter, like it almost did in the kitchen a few minutes ago, and he'd scare her away from him forever. His mind recalled the name of the song they'd been dancing to before she fell. It had sounded cheerful enough, but he knew the message was something much more serious, that seemed to fit his existence perfectly, ever since they'd been eight.

_'Livin' on a prayer, huh?'_

…

Rangiku sang loudly while the hot water cascaded around her. Gin had often teased her for her habit of singing in the shower, but right now she really needed something loud and noisy to cover up the turmoil in her head.

Usually, Rangiku was fine with tough situations: if something was wrong, she'd figure it out. There was always a solution. But in this case, that wasn't true. Well, it _was _ true, but this time that mantra just wasn't helping her. She didn't know _what _was wrong. She just felt...weird. Ever since this morning, when Gin had stopped her from tripping over in the kitchen. At first, she'd passed it off as adrenaline following a 'near-death' experience, but as time passed, and the feeling remained, she had to admit to herself that something was wrong. Something had changed between her and Gin. And she didn't like it.

Rangiku had always hated change. It scared her, not knowing what was going to happen in the future. If the orphanage hadn't been such a hell-hole, she would never have considered running away. Or if Gin wasn't there to go with her. Gin had been pretty much a constant in her life, never changing, always with that scary grin or whatever. But now he was changing. No, that wasn't right. Gin hadn't changed at all. It was _her _who had changed! She looked at the world in a different way now, with different eyes. When Gin had caught her, the thought in her head hadn't been, '_Oh, thank God, I nearly died just now!'_, it had been, _'His face is so close to mine.' _

What the hell was with that? She'd been a lot closer to Gin before, she'd even kissed him! On the cheek, of course, but she'd never felt the need to make it anything more. But now...the energy between them was so strange. She knew he felt it too, she could read past his ultimate poker face after all these years, but he wasn't reacting at all! It didn't affect him. Maybe it was a girl thing. Or maybe she was over-thinking things.

Or maybe she'd fallen for him and he didn't return her feelings.

Rangiku shook her head hard. Now she was being ridiculous. _Definitely _over-thinking things! She was just growing up, that's all. Teenage hormones were a menace. But maybe, just maybe he _did _think of her as a...girl. Sometimes. Well, there was only one way to find out!

…

"...Gin?" Rangiku padded quietly into the living room where Gin was slouching in the armchair, watching the news.

"Yeah, Ran-chan?" Gin smiled, averting his eyes from the screen.

Rangiku pushed a strand of still-damp hair out of her face. "Why don't you like Toushiro-kun?"

"..."

"I know it's random, but he's a good kid, really, just slightly...cold."

"...Why are you askin' Ran-chan?"

"I just want to know."

Gin sighed and flicked off the telly. "It's not that I don't like him...it's just...he kinda threatens me."

Rangiku felt a small, unexplained flicker of hope. "Huh?" she prompted.

"Like, he's really...I dunno, authoritive and crap."

"...He's a child, Gin."

"I know, I know. But I don't like the way he bosses ya around."

Rangiku's mouth dropped open. "He does _not _boss me around!" Gin raised an eyebrow. "Well...not _much_..." she admitted.

"Yeah, well, it bugs me."

"Why?"

"Nuh-uh, Ran-chan, I answered yer question. Ya can't ask me another one." Gin grinned, switching the TV back on.

Rangiku walked over to the chair and plopped down next to Gin, almost on his lap. She put her face a hair's breadth away from his and whispered, "Are you _sure _you're not jealous I spend most evenings with Toushiro-kun? Even if it is for baby-sitting."

Gin stiffened, leaning ever-so-slightly away from her. "No."

Rangiku was slightly hurt. So, she was wrong then. Gin didn't care whether other boys paid attention to her or not. She knew it'd all been in her head. "Whatever." she said, pushing herself off his knee and flouncing out in a huff. At the doorway, she turned around. "I guess you wouldn't care if I spent my evenings with a 'weird guy' like Kyoraku-san, huh?" She then made tracks to leave.

Gin jumped up and grabbed her by the wrist. "Nah, wait Ran-chan, I didn't mean ta offend ya or anythin'!"

"Well, you did a great job. Congratulations." Rangiku smiled coldly.

"I guess I did. Sorry. Ya got me, I _am _kinda jealous when ya pay more attention to that lil' brat than me. But only a little." he admitted.

Rangiku's eyes widened. "You lied!"

"...I lie all the time, Ran-chan. You know that."

"Yeah, guess I do. But you don't have to be jealous, Gin, you'll always be my Number One!"

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Will I now?"

"Uh-huh! You're the best guy friend a girl could have!"

"...Right." Gin deflated slightly. _'Che..."guy friend"...'_

"Yeah! Like that song said! _'We've got each other, and that's a lot. For love—we'll give it a shot! WOOOAAAH! We're halfway there, Oh! Oh! Livin' on a prayer! Take my hand...'_" She danced away, singing at the top of her voice.

Gin was left in the living room, scratching his head. "For love, huh? What kind?" he muttered, half to himself.

**A/N: GASP! Is Rangiku-chan finally realising her love for her childhood friend? Or is she just really tired? (lololol)**

**I didn't like this chapter much, but I'm very happy to know what you think about it, as long as it doesn't take the form of a flame. Constructive criticism welcomed, I need help! Also, song requests very needed here, but please no heavy metal, I don't think I can survive that. No offense to people who like heavy metal, it just ain't my cup of tea. ^o^**


	8. Tear My World Apart

**A/N: I'm back, and I'm exhausted! Woo. Gah, just finished a mahoosive Physics paper that I got set for homework yesterday and it took...I lost count of the hours. Nah, wasn't that bad actually just about one hour! Ah, anyways, v. v. pleased with the response to the last chapter, and I got two new song requests as well! YAY! So, this is the first, and I'll try and do the next for Chapter 9! Credit for this song choice goes to chesxca, so if you wanna say "OMG THIS IS AN AMAZING SONG I LOVE IT!" or something like that, thank her, not me! xx**

**But then again, if you hate the song, don't flame her. Or me. It's a free world, people can think what they like! XP**

**Anywayyy, people to thank are:**

**chesxca (of course!)**

**IceFire123 (Yay! New reviewer! *throws welcome party*)**

**Rainbow Fruit Loop (:3)  
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**uranium12 (MORE NEW REVIEWERS!)**

**dragonballzlover2499 (3)**

**splitheart1120 (-w-)**

**and angelprincess ino! (XD) Thanks to ya'll, you make my...life! :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite the Great! I also do not own the song Tear My World Apart by Greeley Estates!  
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Tear My World Apart

"_It doesn't make sense if you're not here with me,_

_It doesn't make sense if you're not here with me…"_

He was walking through darkness. He couldn't see anything, yet he still knew he was alone.

_(Why does that feel strange?)_

He reached out, trying to catch something, fleeting, bright.

_(But what is there to hold on to?)_

He knew there was something more to find, something that would make existence meaningful.

_(But is there?)_

He _knew_ it.

_(No.)_

…

Gin woke up with a gasp. The hell kind of dream was that? He ran his hands through his scruffy silver hair, trying to regulate his breathing again. The dream stayed in his mind. It had been so black, so empty. Why?

Gin glanced over at the other side of the blankets, where Rangiku lay. Except she wasn't. He shot up, running to the window and flinging the curtains open. Bright daylight filled the room, making him squint with its intensity. He'd overslept, something which didn't happen often. But when it did, Rangiku was always there next to him, offering him a cup of tea or coffee to wake him up. Except today. Usually, Gin would have sat down and thought about it rationally, but with his recent nightmare, panic took hold quickly.

"Crap…where did she run off to?" he muttered to himself. He wondered if Rangiku would ever leave him. He felt like curling up into a ball and never facing the world again. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed his thick winter coat and pulled it on. Hers wasn't there.

Gin raced out into the streets. There were quite a few people out, although it was still fairly early, maybe around eight. He looked around, scanning the area for his friend. No head of strawberry blonde.

"S'cuse me," he stopped a kindly looking old lady who was passing. "Have ya seen my friend? She's quite small, around thirteen, blonde hair." he asked anxiously.

"Ah…no, dear, I don't believe I have. I'm very sorry, is she lost?" The lady smiled.

"Well, when I woke up, she wasn't around. I'm sure she's fine though. Thanks fer yer help." he mumbled, trying desperately to believe his own words. Rangiku was a trouble magnet with no equal.

Gin scoured the area, looking in parks, shopping malls, side streets, alleyways. She was nowhere.

"Rangiku!" he called, "Rangiku!"

No answer.

Gin let out a shaky sigh. It wouldn't do any good to completely lose it. He would sit down at the nearest café, order the cheapest cup of coffee they had, and think. It's what he did best, after all.

…

When his coffee came, Gin thanked the waiter, blew away the steam, and drank it immediately, paying no heed to the scalding temperature. Now, where would she have gone? He'd checked all her favourite places, the swings, the boutiques and the library. He couldn't think of anywhere else she'd be; it was a small town. Unless, she hadn't gone of her own free will.

Dread filled him before he realised he was being ridiculous. How would a child-snatcher have snuck into a high-security building, picked their lock and stuffed Rangiku into a sack or whatever while he was still asleep? That was just dumb.

Gin figured his best option would be to ask around again, people who knew Rangiku and would recognize her easily. He drained the last dregs of his rather nasty-tasting coffee, chucked a couple of coins on the table, and got up to leave.

…

"What was that, sweetie?" the old Obaa-chan who ran the music store he'd gotten his guitar at said, cupping her hand to her ear.

Gin sighed quietly. Why had he come here again? "I asked whether ya'd seen Matsumoto Rangiku around today. Like, a couple of hours ago." he repeated.

"Ah, the little girl who always walks around with you?"

"That's the one."

"Yes, I saw her walking off with two men just half an hour ago." the old lady cheerfully informed him.

"_What? _Where did they go?" Gin nearly shouted, dreading that his 'ridiculous' child-snatching theory was true after all.

"Ah…to the diner round the corner, I think."

"Right. Thanks, see ya." Gin ran out of the store.

"Strange boy…" the old lady chuckled to herself, shaking her head.

…

Gin burst into the diner, looking around frantically. He almost fainted with relief when he saw the familiar head of strawberry-blonde locks four tables down. He marched up to the table, and froze when he saw two horribly familiar faces.

"Gin? What are you doing here?" Rangiku asked, wide-eyed. Gin ignored her, still staring in disbelief at his friend's companions.

"Ah! Gin-kun! How wonderful to see you again! I was really hoping to meet you as well, but Ran-chan over here was by herself, how could you? There are strange men about who'd want to take her away!" chimed Kyoraku Shunsui, waving at him pleasantly.

"What, like you?" Gin growled, grabbing Rangiku's wrist and pulling her out of her seat.

"Ow, Gin! That hurt! And don't be so mean to Shunsui-san, he was being nice!" she snatched her arm away, rubbing her wrist where he'd grabbed her.

"Well, actually, Rangiku-chan, I can see his point of view. He must have been very worried when he found you gone." Ukitake soothed her, smiling at Gin, who glowered at him in return.

"Too right I was, and if I ever hear that you guys have hurt 'er or done anything at all, I will personally come after ya and strangle ya to death." Gin spat, grabbing Rangiku's hand again and dragging her out of the diner.

"Gin! That was so rude of you! Apologize!" Rangiku cried, shocked at her childhood friend's less-than-perfect behaviour.

"No, I meant every word. Why the hell'd ya go off with two creeps like them, anyway? Especially that Kyoraku, he's just weird." Gin interrogated.

Rangiku scowled at him. "Actually, Shunsui-san and Ukitake-san are very nice. They bought me food and everything. You had no right to be so mean!"

"Why did ya go with them, Ran-chan? What were you doin' out so early, anyway?" Gin pleaded, stopping in a side street and taking both her hands into his.

"I was doing _your_ paper round, actually, as you overslept and I didn't want to wake you up. You've been working so hard recently; you deserved a rest." Rangiku ended sheepishly, realising how much she'd worried him.

Gin collapsed, leaning his head on her shoulder and nuzzling his face into her hair. "Ran-chan…never do that again. Please, I—" he broke off, his voice cracking.

Rangiku's face softened. She'd really scared him. "I won't Gin." she reassured him, stroking his hair gently. Suddenly, he snapped his head up, looking her right in the eyes. She glimpsed a flash of ice blue before Gin crushed her to his chest, almost squeezing the breath out of her.

"I dreamt ya'd left me by myself." he admitted, revealing why he'd been so anxious. Rangiku's eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"I'd never leave you, Gin. We'll be together forever. You and me, huh?" she smiled fondly when he buried his face in her neck, his breath leaving a hot trail on her flushed skin.

"…I love ya, Ran-chan."

"I love you too, Gin. We're the best team the world could ever face!" she chirped happily. Gin rolled his eyes. She just didn't get it, did she? Oh well, he wasn't going to force her to think of him the way he wanted her to. She was safe and she wasn't leaving, that was all that mattered.

**A/N: A bit of a sad one there, but fluff fluff fluff at the end! I like to think Gin's really protective of Rangiku, and he _really _hates Shunsui and Ukitake now, huh? (looollll...they meant well.) And Rangiku's being a lil' bit of an idiot right now, huh? Is anyone else getting a teeny bit frustrated? And I don't seem to understand why Gin can't just get the guts to go tell her what he actually means! And if anyone is confused at my ranting at myself (supposedly), I am not making this up. This all happened in real life. Really. Gin's telling me about it right now. What was that? You wanna say hi to the readers? OK, sure! Guys, Gin says hi, and is asking you to review so you can kick his butt for being suck a wimp and ruining our fun! XP **


	9. Do You Believe In Magic

**A/N: OH MY GOD IT'S AN UPDATE A DAY AFTER THE PREVIOUS ONE! Trust me, this does not happen often. However, as much as I adore this chapter, I couldn't help but feel this song (from dragonballzlover2499!) was slightly Cristmassy, so CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY TO THIS FIC! Think of it as my comfort, as my mum didn't want to let me decorate the tree a full month before December the 25th...XD**

**As I said, credit for this artist choice goes to dragonballzlover2499, (but I chose the song in question) thanks to her and all the other people who've reviewed the last chapter in the past 24 hours! You're all gorgeous! And, let me remind you, new reviewers get a special party and a lifetime's supply of cyber cookies! (shameless bribery...)**

**People who reviewed/favourited:**

**chesxca, who has managed to tap into Gin's head and tell me exactly what's going on in it, CONGRATS TO HER EVERYONE!**

**dragonballzlover2499**

**splitheart1120**

**angelprincess ino**

**Rainbow Fruit Loop**

**and agoodcupoftea! *throws huge new reviewer party***

**Thanks to everyone who requested a song and I'll try to use all of them in following chapters, but be warned, if you request more than one at a time, I'll probably only choose the one I like best, but if you request more than once in different reviews, I will try my hardest to do all of them! That is not a ploy for reviews, just the facts. (Lies, oh lies!)  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to the absolutely amazing Kubo Tite! The song Do You Believe In Magic belongs to Aly & AJ, as much as I wish it was mine, but hey, you can't have everything in this world! :) (OMG, I JUST TYPED ALL THAT WITHOUT LOOKING! I know it doesn't sound that amazing, but I can't touchtype, so I'm pretty damn proud of myself!)  
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Do You Believe In Magic

'_Do you believe like I believe?_

_Do you believe in magic?'_

"Gin! Wake up, wake up Gin! Gin, Gin! Gin, hey Gin, Gin, Gin, Gin, Gin, Gi—"

"_Yes, Ran-chan?_" Gin pushed her face out of his, slightly irritated at being woken up at…four am.

"It's Christmas Eve, Gin!"

Gin sighed. "Yes, Ran-chan, it is Christmas Eve. Now can I go back ta sleep?"

"No! This is one of the big days of the year! We have to start early!" Rangiku bounced on his blanket excitedly.

"Ran-chan…we've talked about this before. Startin' early don' meant startin' at the _freakin' crack of dawn_. I'm tired. I can't function without my sleep. Please let me get my sleep, Ran-chan." Gin whined, pulling her arm in a futile attempt to calm her down.

"No." she replied mercilessly. "I've arranged with Toushiro-kun to go to a Christmas party at his place with loads of his friends!"

Gin's eyes bugged. "Surely it don' start at four in the mornin'?"

"Of course not, silly, it starts at two!" she waved him off.

"_In the mornin'!"_ Gin's mind didn't work very well while it was still half-asleep.

"Don't be an idiot, Gin. The afternoon. And I need you to help me choose what to wear!" she squealed excitedly, dragging him out of bed and into the hallway outside the bathroom. While Gin stood shivering in just his boxers, Rangiku flew to the closet and pulled out four stunning outfits, each of which had taken her three weeks to save up for.

As she closed the bathroom door behind her, she told Gin, "When I come out, tell me what you think, okay? And then after I've tried all of them on, tell me which one was best."

"Ran-chan, I'm pretty sure I ain't the best person fer ya to be askin' 'bout this…" Gin replied hesitantly, wondering whether he should just go back to bed while she was getting changed.

"Well, you're kind of my only option. So suck it up." she informed him, slamming the door in his face.

Gin sighed, and leaned his back on the wall, flinching slightly at the cold temperature against his skin. She really was overexcited this year.

…

"So, Gin, what do you think?" Rangiku came out in a scarlet dress that came to just above her knees. It looked like she'd just stepped down off a cloud from Heaven. He told her so.

"Ya look wonderful, Ran-chan, can I _please_ go back to bed now?" he pleaded.

Rangiku denied him permission. "Now, wait while I try on the next one!"

…

The next outfit was a chocolate-brown colour, with an underskirt of white netting. This one was shorter, it only came to about mid-thigh, and was quite low-cut as well.

Gin swallowed briefly. "Yup, that's perfect, ya look gorgeous, the colour suits ya to a tee, an' I don' think yer'll ever find one that looks better."

"Okay! I'll go try on the next one!"

…

Rangiku's third outfit consisted of a lot of purple silk. Gin had to blink to fully comprehend how much silk there was. The cost of this dress alone could have fed them both for at least a month!

"Lovely, Ran-chan, but don'cha think ya should—"

"Thanks, Gin! One more to go!" At that, Gin breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

…

"All right, Gin, here it is!" Rangiku announced, stepping out into the hallway for what was hopefully the last time that day.

Gin's eyes widened slightly. She was wearing a very pale pink, floor-length dress with a bow around her middle. It flattered her curves to perfection and somehow managed to make her look even more beautiful than she already was.

"Yep, that's the one, Ran-chan. Seriously, can I go to sleep again now?"

"Really, you think this is the best?" Rangiku asked sceptically, ignoring his question and turning a circle so he could see the dress to its full effect.

"Definitely."

"Okay, I guess I trust you! Thanks for that, Gin, it must have been really boring for you!" Rangiku beamed at him.

"Nah, wasn't really." Gin lied, "Now, Ran-chan, will you let me back to my bed now?"

"No, of course not! We need to get you dressed up too!" came the reply.

"_What?_" Gin choked out.

…

"Naw, Gin! You look too cute!" Rangiku cooed, fluttering around him like a fairy on steroids.

"Well, I don' feel like it. This collar's too tight. 'S nasty." he told her, pulling at his bow tie. Rangiku slapped his hand away.

"Don't be daft; it'll just take some getting used to is all! Now, do you want me to do your hair for you?"

"No! I don' need my hair done! One comb-through an' it'll be fine!" Gin panicked slightly.

"Well, whatever, I guess. But I do need help with mine! We have to go soon!" Rangiku blustered, also panicking.

"Ran-chan…" Gin checked his watch. "We still have four hours left."

"Exactly! There's no way I'm going to be able to get done in time!"

Gin groaned internally. He really hated Christmas.

…

After lots of fussing on Rangiku's part, and lots of confusion as to what to do with the hairspray on Gin's, Rangiku was finally happy with her hair. They'd pulled it up into a messy bun, leaving a few tendrils hanging down her neck.

Rangiku turned to Gin with anxious eyes. "What do you think? Does it look alright?"

Gin sighed and bent down to kiss her forehead. "It looks lovely, Ran-chan. Everythin' does."

"Thanks. _Omigosh_!"

"What is it, Ran-chan?" Gin asked, startled.

"We only have an hour left! I have to do make up!"

"Ran-chan, no! You look fine!"

"But I don't want to look fine, I want to look spectacular!" she whined, giving him the puppy-eyes treatment.

"You look spectacular already, Ran-chan. Don' change a thing." Gin warned. "Now. I'm going to get ya a nice cup o' tea ta calm ya down. Do not move from that spot."

"Okay, Gin." Rangiku sighed in defeat.

When he came back, the bathroom door was barred shut and he could hear the distinctive sound of foundation being applied.

"Ran-chan!"

…

"Yes?" Hitsugaya asked coldly, opening the door. When he saw Gin, his eyes narrowed even more. He nodded at Rangiku and allowed them to pass, albeit reluctantly on Gin's part.

"Hiya, Toushiro-kun! How are you?" Rangiku asked the boy chirpily.

"I'm fine, thank you Matsumoto. And for the last time, don't call me that!" a vein popped on his forehead, his patience wearing thin after months of this degradation.

"Then what should I call you?" Rangiku asked innocently.

"Shiro-chan!" came a high voice from behind them. "I'm here!"

They all turned to see a girl with dark hair wearing a light blue dress come through the doorway with a blond boy who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Hinamori. Kira." 'Shiro-chan' greeted them stiffly. "Matsumoto, this is Hinamori Momo, an old friend of mine, and Kira Izuru. You two, this is Matsumoto Rangiku and…friend." he finished disdainfully.

"Ichimaru Gin. Nice ta meetcha." Gin introduced himself, shaking Izuru by the hand and kissing Hinamori's, causing her to blush lightly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ichimaru-san!" she replied. Izuru smiled wanly at him.

"Please, call me Gin."

"And call me Rangiku!" It's so nice to finally meet you, Momo-chan, Toushiro-kun's told me so much about you!" Rangiku bounced up to them, hugging both newcomers enthusiastically, causing Izuru to almost fall over.

"Really?" Momo asked excitedly, glancing at her childhood friend.

"No, she's lying, Hinamori. Now, all of you come in. It's cold out there." Hitsugaya semi-commanded, pushing Rangiku in by the small of her back.

"These women, huh Izuru?" Gin sighed, deciding to try and make conversation with the blond emo guy.

"Yeah. She came round to pick me up at ten in the morning, no less." The boy sighed, pushing back his long fringe.

"That's nothin'! Ran-chan there, well, we live together, and she woke me up at four. No, I'm not kiddin'." he confirmed at Izuru's incredulous stare.

"Wow. I don't envy you, man."

"Ya shouldn't."

…

It was a safe guess to say Rangiku had fun at the party, Gin thought. She'd spent the entire time talking to Hinamori and her friends, a girl with short black hair and purple eyes who'd come with a tall, grumpy-looking guy with orange hair and another dude with scary tattoos and a bright crimson mop. Gin himself had been slightly bored, but seeing Rangiku having so much fun was definitely worth it.

At nearly midnight, everyone gathered to see the dawn of Christmas from the Hitsugayas' balcony. Obviously, it couldn't fit everyone, but then again, not many people actually wanted to go outside. It looked like it was going to snow, and was extremely cold.

Also obviously, Rangiku was one of the ones who _did _want to go outside, and naturally she dragged Gin with her.

"Wow, Gin! It's so cool!" Rangiku said, amazed by the lights of the city below.

"Not really so cool as much as freezin'." Gin complained, blowing on his hands to keep them warm.

"Stop being such a mope!" Rangiku chided him, but was interrupted by another light, this time streaking through the sky.

"Look, Gin! A shooting star! Make a wish, quick quick!"

Gin closed his eyes and obeyed. He grinned to himself. He was pretty sure his wish choice was as obvious to everyone as an elephant hiding behind a Christmas tree. All except to the girl standing next to him, of course. After he opened his eyes, he turned to Rangiku.

"So, what'd ya wish for then?" he asked her. He was answered with a light slap on his arm.

"Stop it Gin, you know I can't tell you! That'd ruin the magic!" she said, gazing up at the sky again. Gin preferred to gaze at her, but quickly averted his eyes when hers flicked over at him. "Do you believe in magic, Gin?"

"I guess I'm gonna have to." he smiled. Maybe if he believed, his wish might finally come true.

**A/N: Naw~~ I love how Gin's so soft on Rangiku! Shame, being woken up at four! (he doesn't mind really!)**

**This was a really long one for me, so I quite like it, please tell me what you think! I love all things fluffy, and as the last chapter was slightly sad, this one is the cutest thing I can come up with! Hope you liked it! xx**


	10. EMERGENCY AN

**A/N: AH! I'm so sorry guys, but I only saw this reviewer for the last chapter in my inbox right after I updated just now! Sorry for those who thought this was an update!**

**Thanks to:**

**kitty, who I am so sorry for only seeing now, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW! XP**


	11. I'll See Your Heart & Show You Mine

**A/N: Wow. Another update in a row. What does that make it, three? Geez. I must seem like I don't have a life...which is unfortunately probably true. Okayyy, anyways, credit for this song choice goes to Rainbow Fruit Loop, who I apologize to for this very bad interpretation of the song, but...yeah. I'm having a small amount of Writers' Block, and this was the best I could come up with. Hopefully it's still cute though! Was aiming for cute, by the way...**

**Great response to the last chapter, and really quickly too! So, people to thank:**

**splitheart1120, who AMAZED me, as five minutes after I uploaded the last chapter, I was checking my email, and I SAW HER REVIEW THERE! What? Fastest reader I know, must have eyes speedier than light! (You are amazing, btw. O.O)**

**angelprincess ino, who was also very very fast!**

**chesxca, who was among the many that fell into my psuedo-chapter trap yesterday, along with**

**dragonballzlover2499, but we don't blame them, 'cos technically it was my fault, and they were just being amazing readers!**

**elyzmaki, *MASSIVE NEW REVIEWER PARTY! WOOOO!***

**AdilaRain *AGAIN! WOOOWWWW!* (sorry for my sugar high today, by the way folks)**

**and Rainbow Fruit Loop, who submitted one of the best reviews I've seen in a loooong time. See if you guys can beat her!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to the spentabulous (made it up) Kubo Tite! Don't own the song I'll See Your Heart & Show You Mine either... :)  
><strong>

I'll See Your Heart & Raise You Mine

"_This is the story of the angel_

_Who played poker with the devil_

_In the Garden of Eden,_

_Before it all went pear-shaped."_

Rangiku blew a sigh upwards so it mussed her fringe. She was bored again. Gin was away doing…something; she had no idea what, he'd always wandered off on random occasions, and now she was alone in the apartment with absolutely zilch to do. Yay.

Not that she was resentful of Gin or anything, he deserved time to himself once in a way, and it wasn't like he was ever gone for long. She just wished it wasn't so boring while he wasn't with her. She was too dependent on him, she supposed, she needed to get some free-time activity of her own. Not one that involved exercise, though. That wasn't fun. That was Hell on Earth.

Rangiku rolled over onto her stomach, thinking hard. She could phone Toushiro. Wasn't that what normal girls did when they had time on their hands? Phone a friend? But then she remembered he'd be at school right now, and he didn't seem to enjoy her company that much anyway. Maybe it was the death-hugs…

Either way, that didn't seem to be an option. She considered going for a walk around the block, but then realised the disgusting drizzling that was taking place at that moment. How Gin could stand to be outside was a mystery to her.

Writing a story? Nah, creativity hadn't ever been one of her strong points. At least, not when it came to words…she could draw something! She'd always loved artwork; at the orphanage she'd always try her hardest to get one of the disgusting old felt tips just to alleviate her boredom in the long hours they were forced to spend in their rooms, having 'a quiet time'.

Rangiku jumped up and started scrounging for a piece of paper and a pencil. Surprisingly, she managed to find a not-so-filthy eraser as well.

After she had collected her various tools, she came to the decision of what in the world to draw. None of the stuff in the apartment was interesting enough and outside was much the same. Then it hit her. God, she was dumb. What else was there to draw?

…

"Ran-chan?" Gin entered the small flat, shaking his hair of the droplets of water that had accumulated in it. It had started to pour out there, so he came home from his 'quick' stroll.

"Hey Gin!" came the reply. He looked around for the source of the greeting in confusion, wondering how she could have possibly made herself invisible, before he saw a pair of small, bare feet poking out from behind the sofa.

"Ran-chan…What are ya doin'?" '_Dare I ask?'_ he added silently.

"Drawing!"

"What are ya drawin'?" he inquired, leaning over her shoulder curiously. She thrust a hand into his face, pushing his head away from her artwork. "Ow! Hey, Ran-chan, what'd ya do that for?" he whined, rubbing his throbbing nose.

"Sorry, Gin, but you're not allowed to see it until it's done. Genius at work here." she informed him, slightly snobbishly.

Gin rolled his eyes and decided to give up. There was no budging her when she was like this.

"Yeah, whatever. Do we have any dry clothes I can use?"

"Airing cupboard." came the detached answer, her face buried in whatever she was drawing.

"Cheers." he ruffled her hair and strolled to the cupboard, stripped off his shirt and pants, changed his pants for clean ones and paused. Then he re-entered the living room.

"Ran-chan?"

"Hm?"

"I don' have no clean shirts."

"Whoops. Forgot to do the laundry. Wow, I really am absorbed in this aren't I?" she exclaimed, slightly wondrous of her own talent.

There was a long pause.

"…So are ya gonna do it now?" Gin asked tentatively.

"No. Go do your own laundry."

Gin sighed and exited, heading towards the tumble dryer. He'd just dry his dirty shirt. The washing machine was beyond him.

…

"Ran-chan?" It was getting late. Around half-five, and he was hungry. "Are ya gonna cook supper?"

"Nah, I'm nearly done now! Just another hour…" Rangiku replied, sticking her tongue out in concentration, waving him away.

"Ran-chan, ya have ta cook dinner at least."

"Can't you do it just this once?" she complained, rubbing out an awry line.

"…Do ya remember the last time I tried ta cook somethin'? Toast, was it?"

"…" Rangiku made a face as she remembered the embarrassment of telling the fire brigade why the whole block of flats had nearly been burnt down. "Okay, tell you what, if you can do a drawing better than this in a quarter of an hour, I'll cook dinner now. If not, I'll cook it when I'm damn well ready. And remember, this isn't finished yet, so no teasing." she warned him before shoving her work into his face.

Gin backed his head out a little bit so he could focus on the drawing. What he saw took him by surprise. It was a drawing of him, head and neck only, grin in place and apt shading through the entire thing, except for a section of the hair.

"Wow. That's pretty good, Ran-chan."

"I know!" she replied modestly.

"But, ya know what they said at the orphanage. 'When bribed with food, Ichimaru-kun seems to be a genius with everything.'" he put on a posh voice, imitating the orphanage matron scarily well.

"Don't underestimate art, Gin! It may look easy, but trust me, no one can just…pick it up." she said disdainfully.

Gin raised an eyebrow. She really was getting on her high horse about this. He was quite flattered she drew him though. God knows what he would have done if it'd been that Hitsugaya brat.

"Right. Well, if I may borrow yer pencil, I can show ya that ain't quite true, darlin'." he said patronizingly, taking the worn down stub from her hand.

After around fifteen minutes, Gin proudly held up a drawing of Rangiku, full-body, shaded to a tee, not an untrue detail anywhere. It appeared to be the work of a master.

"...Damn you." Rangiku admitted defeat graciously, heading towards the kitchen.

"An angel like you shouldn't gamble, Ran-chan! 'Specially not with a demon like me!" he called after her retreating back, smugly for him.

Rangiku raised her middle finger at him without turning round.

**A/N: Lolololol, thought this song sounded really sweet and innocent, so I made this chapter really sweet and innocent too. Wasn't the longest thing I've ever written, but hey, you can't do everything, right? Love the idea of Gin not being bothered to do anything...until Rangiku bribes him with food! Aha! And I've always thought that Rangiku and Gin would be good drawers, dunno why...maybe it's my Art course invading my brain with different types of brush strokes and rubbish.**

**Well...who knows? Please review guys, I know there are more people reading than reviewing, I accept anonymous reviews and pretty much anything except flames. And, as you have seen...NEW REVIEWERS GET A PARTY! WOOOO! *does her freaky disco dancing routine***

**Sorry about that by the way...I know I can't dance. It's really frustrating Gin, he's been trying to teach me for...how long, Gin? GOD, has it really been three years? Wow, I am useless...**

**Naw~~~thanks, Rangiku! Rangiku said I could dance everyone! But we all know she's lying to save my feelings!**


	12. Cuando Me Enamoro

**A/N: We****ll, it's only been a day, but I have nothing else to do because school's out for the time being. All the teachers are on strike! Yayy, I wish it was like this full-time! XD**

**So, I got this AWESOME song request from agoodcupoftea, and just so you know, I don't speak a word of Spanish. I literally copied and pasted the lyrics into Google Translate so I could write a chapter about it, and Google Translate...wasn't that good. So I'm not sure if I got the proper mood of the song. Well, whatever, I guess it doesn't particularly matter!**

**I didn't get so many reviews for the last chapter, but everyone's allowed a day off once in a while! _However_,this chapter's important, so if I don't get at least...hmm, random number...7 reviews (from different people!) for this chapter, I will make them break up next time, but if I do...well, you'll have to review and find out! I'm shameless, I know, but do any of you guys like writing a fanfic if you don't get a response? Didn't think so.**

**On a happier note, the people who did review appeared to like Chapter 10, so thank you guys sooooo much! You're all amazing!**

**Thanks to:**

**chesxca, who has now also been appointed the title of SPEED REVIEWER!**

**Rainbow Fruit Loop**

**angelprincess ino**

**splitheart1120**

**and elyzmaki! Wait, I remember what happened last time I didn't do this! *goes off to check email* Nope, no new reviews/favourites. *Sniff* Oh well!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its charcters. All credit goes to the fantabulous Kubo Tite! I also do not own the song Cuando Me Enamoro by Enrique Iglesias featuring Juan Luis Guerra. Of which I don't understand a word, but it still sounds great!  
><strong>

Cuando Me Enamoro

"_Sonrïo, cuando me enamoro."_

"_**I smile when I fall".**_

Gin slapped his hands together, trying to get the feeling back into them. It was freezing cold outside, and it didn't seem like it was going to get any warmer. In fact, it looked as though it would snow soon.

Gin smiled as he thought of Rangiku's face when her favourite weather finally came. She'd be elated.

Still, it would be very hard to do a paper round on his bike with the slippery ice that was inevitably on the pavement in the mornings these days. It'd be a pain if he hurt himself, and then who would take care of Rangiku?

Gin shrugged, unable to see a solution at this exact point in time, so he decided to put the problem off until he could. After coming to that conclusion, he stretched and reclined back in his chair. Rangiku was off babysitting some new kids whose parents Toushiro's mum had recommended her to. That was nice for her and all; she wouldn't be long very long, but while he was, Gin was at a loose end. And Gin did not particularly enjoy being at a loose end.

Gin rose and headed for the kitchen. Recently, Rangiku had started to decorate the place, putting photos of them all around, so he was met with either one or both of their faces everywhere he turned. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, just…different.

Gin paused at Rangiku's personal favourite photo. It was of them just after their first month in the apartment. It had still been summer then, so they'd gone for a walk in the park while the sun was still up. It had been a lovely day, Gin remembered. Rangiku had been in one of the best moods he'd seen since they ran away.

"_Gin! Come on, Gin! I wanna go on the swings!" Rangiku squealed, looking around her with as much excitement as she had on their first trip here._

"_Yes, yes, Ran-chan. You go ahead, I'll catch up." he assured her, giving her a gentle push to set her off running towards the playground. Gin watched her go, hair blowing slightly in the breeze as he stood there by himself, smiling at his friend's enthusiasm for something she should have grown out of years ago._

_He stood there for a second longer before he started strolling towards the swings himself. He whistled as he went; it really was a perfect day. As he reached the swings, Rangiku turned to him with a dazzling smile. _

"_See, Gin! Look how high I can go!" she laughed, legs swinging up and down as she flew._

"_I see, Ran-chan." he chuckled lightly to himself. It was funny how she seemed to be like a child while he was the 'responsible adult'._

"_I'm gonna jump, Gin! Watch me!" she called. Before he could stop her, she sprang out of the wooden seat, arcing gracefully through the air. Her feet hit the ground briefly, and for a split second she stood, then pitched over onto the grass._

"_Ran-chan!" he screamed, terrified she'd hurt herself. He rushed over to her, shaking her shoulder gently. "Ran-chan, are ya okay?"_

_She raised her head to look at him. She had a few scrapes on her cheeks, but nothing too major. She sat up slowly, wincing lightly at the sting in her knees._

"_Whew! I guess that was kind of stupid of me, huh?" Gin could only stare in reply. "I don't regret it though. For a moment there, I felt like I was flying!" Her face shifted into a euphoric state, obviously reflecting her wonder at her brief flight._

"_Never do that again, Ran-chan!" he begged her, grasping both her hands in his slightly larger ones._

"_No fear! One can only fly once!" she'd said, before frowning in slight confusion at her own words. "I have no idea why I said that."_

"_I think ya might have hit yer head a bit hard. Let's go home an' take a look, huh, Ran-chan?" Gin said, pulling her to her feet gently. They set off towards their apartment block hand-in-hand, Rangiku laughing and chirping all the way._

Gin was pulled out of his daydream at the sound of the door opening. Rangiku entered the room, looking the complete opposite of her delighted state in the memory.

She flopped down onto a chair with a huff. "Those kids were complete brats! Both of them!" she complained, pushing her fringe back with one hand and massaging her temple with the other. "I swear, that little one kicked me at least half a dozen times!"

Gin just looked at her contemplatively. He was falling into deep crap, he knew that.

"I can't believe the parents can put up with those demons, they seemed nice enough!" she continued, oblivious to his stare.

And yet Rangiku_ didn't_ know how far he was falling.

And maybe it was time she learned.

"Welcome back, Ran-chan." said Gin, walking over to where she sat. Before she could reply, he took her chin in his hands and planted a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth. He let go of her face and stepped back, taking in her surprised expression before he turned away so she wouldn't realize he was trying his hardest not to laugh. He started walking to the door for a stroll outside, sub-zero temperature be damned. He would let Rangiku process the kiss in her own time, let her come to any conclusion she wanted. Just as long as she knew.

Yes, Gin was falling. But he smiled as he fell.

**A/N: I'm making a habit of linking the last line back really strongly to whatever song the chapter's about. Is it getting predictable? Should I try and stop? I actually don't know, and it's you guys reading it, so you have to tell me!**

**I do think this chapter had a point (apart from the end bit! Eeek! *starts squealing like the impossible fangirl she is*), but it was kind of a leading chapter. Didn't really do much, but it's nice to see into Gin's head sometimes, right? I find it confusing when I'm reading a book, and I have no clue what the characters are thinking, so I tried to avoid doing that myself! (That would be the epitomy of hypocrisy. BIG WORDS!)**

**So...as I have left you guys with a sort-of cliffhanger, what do you think Rangiku's reaction will be like? You can request songs if you want, I've run out of them, so literally anything could happen next chapter! I have no more of a clue than you do! Well, I have a _bit _of a clue, but it's only about what is _not _going to happen...  
><strong>

**Well, see you in Chapter 12! Judgement Day! (Oh! Just realised I made it sound like this fic is ending, and it isn't. Not for a while, at least.)**


	13. Genie in a Bottle

**A/N: Well, here it is! Not quite so quickly this time, but that leaves more time for people to read the other chapters. And I guess you're all itching to know what the outcome of the review challenge was, so...I'm gonna tell ya'll later! I'm such a sadist...*evil smirk***

**Well, let's see. Things to ramble on pointlessly about. It is Saturday. I am updating this when I should be doing my homework. My hair is huuuge today, so I've fluffed it up even more, stuck a load of eyeliner on and pretended to be a rock-chick wannabe. The looks I've been getting from respectable old ladies are hilarious! XD**

**Uh...I made a cheese toastie today (so random...). But...let's just say I'm not exactly a Michelin Star chef, so the toastie machine started spurting melted cheese everywhere. Had to clean up afterwards. Fun...**

**I am now addicted to the song Halo by Beyonce. I know it's not exactly new, but it is to me; I'm not usually a Beyonce fan. Ya'll should look it up on Youtube if you haven't seen it. C'est formidable! *excercises her 'interesting' (quote French teacher) French skills***

**I am running out of things to babble on about. So...PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE FATE/DOOM OF THIS FIC! I recieved...a grand total of...EIGHT REVIEWS! So, as I'm sure you are all relieved about (I sure as hell am!), Gin and Rangiku will not be breaking up! Yaaayyyy! The people you have to profess your eternal gratitude to are:**

**chesxca**

**Rainbow Fruit Loop**

**xXxAizen's SmilexXx**

**agoodcupoftea**

**dragonballzlover2499**

**angelprincess ino**

**splitheart1120**

**and elyzmaki! (Btw, I did not understand your review. Will type it into Google Translate now! Naw, thank you!) Woo! Thank you all so much, you are review ninja people!**

**Unfortunately, (everyone reading this is filled with a horrible sense of dread, no?) as they are not breaking up, this fic is drawing to a close! NOOOO! *cries, making her copious amount of eyeliner run. Ew.* I have had so much fun writing this! After this chapter, there will be three more, and then...that's it. I'm not going to do an Epilogue this time, I don't think it'd really work. But for the sake of GinRan, I swear to try to make the following chapters the best I possibly can! *determined look***

**I really, really like this chapter! I don't know why...well, I do. Kind of. It's not exactly _fluff_, per se, which is what I usually adore, but for some reason...Ah, I dunno, I just like it! I hope you guys do too, enjoy reading, I won't keep you here any longer!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite, King of Bleachworld! I also do not own the song Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera which I probably completely got the wrong idea of in this chapter (yeah, I really did), but the title was just so perfect I had to use it!  
><strong>

Genie in a Bottle

"_If you want to be with me,_

_I can make your wish come true."_

Gin and Rangiku were sitting in an awkward silence, something which didn't happen often. Gin knew he should be at least slightly nervous over what was to come, but he couldn't bring himself to even speed up his heart rate slightly. He knew Rangiku too well.

Still, she was being quiet longer than he thought she'd be. The outburst was inevitable, but she wasn't the kind of person to bottle up things. It was only a matter of time.

'_Wait for it…_

'_Wait for it…_

'_Three, two, one—'_

"Gin?"

And there it was.

"Yes, Ran-chan?" he questioned smoothly.

"Why did you kiss me yesterday?"

Always to the point.

Gin took a deep breath. Here were the nerves. "Well, I—"

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I mean, I can't force you to do anything you don't want to and I understand it may be private, but I'd still really like to know and it would take a huge weight off my shoulders but I'm not trying to guilt-trip you into anything, promise, I just—"

"I love ya, Ran-chan."

She babbled on. "Yeah, I know, but—"

"No, Ran-chan. I _love_ you."

Silence. Finally.

Rangiku stared at him with a blank face. Then comprehension slammed into her. "You—ohmigawd, but—I can't—how…? You never—I—what?" she covered her ears.

"Calm down, Ran-chan." Gin soothed, attempting to put a hand on her arm, only to have it slapped away. "I—sorry." he apologised quietly, bowing his head.

Rangiku looked at him in concern. No, Gin, I—wait, I—Oh, I'm so confused!" she wailed, covering her face with her hands.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." Gin repeated, losing his grin.

"It's not your fault. I just…can't believe it's true. How long have you…" Rangiku trailed off.

"Since forever. But ya don't haf'ta feel obliged ta return my feelin's, I just wanted ta tell ya. It don't feel right ta keep secrets from ya."

Rangiku eyes filled with tears. They trickled down her cheeks, leaving a shining path in their wake. Gin desperately wanted to wipe them away, take her into his arms and make it all better like he usually did. But now it was different, and he didn't want to break her any more than he had already.

"Gin, I…I just can't. I'm sorry." Rangiku was still crying.

Gin sighed. He'd known he was going to be rejected. "Right. Well, I guess I expected that. Lemme guess; ya never really thought of me in that way."

"No, no, I did," Rangiku surprised him by saying. "I just…didn't really consider it as a possibility. Not real, you know?"

Gin slumped in his chair even more. He felt like crying now, though he knew it was pointless.

"Gin? Oh, Gin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I'm just so confused right now…Everything's changing, and I don't…well, I don't like it. I don't mean I don't like the idea of you l-loving me, I just…don't like change." she finished lamely.

Gin sat up slowly. "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't've just dropped it on ya like that. I was impatient, I guess. I really am sorry, Ran-chan. What can I do ta make it better?" he pleaded, kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"No, you don't have to do anything! You haven't done anything wrong!" Rangiku protested his side out of habit.

"Yeah I have. And I want ta make it up to ya. I'll do anythin', Ran-chan. I can go stay somewhere else, if it'll make things easier fer ya."

"No!" Gin snapped his head up. Rangiku had latched herself onto his front and buried her head in his chest. "Don't go, Gin." she moaned, her lips brushing his collarbone and making him shiver.

Gin slowly circled his arms around her. She stiffened then, and he pulled away.

"Sorry," he muttered again.

"No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. It was impolite." Rangiku smiled wanly at him, her eyes laughing weakly at her own slip-up.

"To be frank, I didn't really mind." Gin told her, smiling back. She giggled, only slightly hysterically, and took his hand again.

"But really, Gin. Don't go away. I want you to stay here."

"Then I won't. Whatever ya say, Ran-chan. But I still want to give ya somethin'. How about…you can ask me somethin', anythin', an' I'll do it for ya. I'll be yer own personal genie in a bottle."

Rangiku smiled shyly. "Can I get three wishes, then?"

"Ya can have all the wishes in the world." Gin assured her, squeezing her hand lightly.

She returned the gesture. "Well, I think I'll stick with three for now. I'll probably have calmed down again tomorrow morning, you really don't have to—"

"I want to, Ran-chan."

She rolled her eyes at his masochism. "Fine, whatever." she said, returning back slightly to her old sarcastic self. "I'll tell you my first wish tomorrow, little genie. But right now…I'm bushed. See you." she waved, smiling over her shoulder at him while setting off to her mattress that they'd bought at a sale the week before.

Gin waved back, settling down to watch TV or something. It'd gone better than he'd thought it would; she was still smiling at him, at least.

But, even though he knew he shouldn't, he hoped she'd return his feelings some day.

**A/N: Gin's so sweet! Yayyyyy, I luvvim so much! Kubo Tite better bring him back! *Death glare***

**So, what did you guys think? As you know, I like it, but you're the readers, and what you say goes! Review please! ^o^**


	14. First Wish

**A/N: Oh dear God, it has been SO long since I last updated! I am soooo sorry! Please forgive me! This chapter's about average length, so maybeee...I won't get chewed-out by ya'll? Pwease?**

**I was so happy to see all the reviews and favourites I've got since the last chapter! You are all absolutely amazing and incredible!**

**The absolutely-amazing-and-incredible people are:**

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**Luxord's Xigbar**

**and agoodcupoftea! See, it's loads, right? I might be slightly overexcited about this, but what can I say, I love feedback from my readers!**

**Before I let you guys continue with the story, there are a few things I need to notify ya'll about:**

**1) This fic is indeed ending, after this there will be two chapters and then that's it. Just in case you missed it in the last chapter!**

**2) From now on, these chapters won't be based on songs, so NO MORE SONG REQUESTS PLEASE! I'm very sorry to those who would have liked to have their favourite in this fic, but these chapters will be called First Wish, Second Wish and Third Wish. For obvious reasons.**

**3) I have nearly 70 reviews! Yayyy, but I think I'd like to reach at least 80 by the end of this! So, please please review, I will be forever indebted to you! Thank youuuuuu! xxx  
><strong>

First Wish

"Gin?" Rangiku looked at him, smiling faintly when he glanced at her.

He turned around fully to face her. "Yes, Ran-chan?"

"Did you really mean it? About those wishes, I mean." she asked, knotting and un-knotting her hands.

"Of course, Ran-chan. I'm a man of my word, after all." he grinned at her. She could only manage a weak lift of her lips in return; obviously she was still feeling slightly awkward about the whole 'I love you, Ran-chan' thing.

"Great, 'cos I thought about what I wanted for my first wish last night." she informed him, obviously quite excited about the whole situation. Rangiku always did enjoy receiving more than giving.

"Yeah? An' what did ya come up with?" Gin inquired, extremely curious, though he didn't show it.

"Well…I was thinking…" Rangiku paused when she saw Gin unconsciously lean forward slightly in his eagerness. She giggled quietly. "I was thinking you were very rude to Ukitake-san and Shunsui-san a few weeks ago," His face filled with apprehension. "And for my first wish, I'd like you to apologise and make friends with them!" she announced. Gin looked disappointed.

'_Brilliant…'_

He sighed and rubbed his temples. "All right, Ran-chan. Yer wish is my command. D'ya have their addresses?"

"Oh, they live together in a posh apartment down the road." Gin's eyes bugged. "Not in _that_ way, silly!" she laughed, slapping his arm lightly at his alarmed expression.

"Right…" he managed to choke out.

…

Rangiku and Gin stared up at the pleasant-looking apartment block in front of them.

"Well, this is the place!" announced Rangiku, smiling happily. She looked at Gin, wondering if he was dreading meeting the 'Twin Creeps', as he called them. Contrary to her expectations, Gin looked perfectly calm and collected, although slightly irritable.

"Well?" he asked, "Shall we go in?"

They entered the building, and, after finding the elevator, stood in the cool, sweet-smelling contraption as it rose to the floor they were headed for. When it stopped, they heard a cheerful _'Ping!',_ and the doors opened smoothly.

Rangiku stared in amazement at the hallway they were met with. Her reaction to the huge lobby had been similar, but she just could not get used to such luxury in a building so similar to their own.

"Look at the carpets, Gin!" she squealed, eyeing the tasteful pattern with unrestrained joy.

"Very nice, Ran-chan, but I can't say I'm well-versed in the topic." Gin joked, ruffling her hair lightly, earning a giggle from her lips. It seemed she was as comfortable with him now as she was before she realised he was in love with her, after her initial period of shock. Rangiku always recovered quickly.

The two walked along the warm, cosy corridor until they reached the door they were looking for.

"Look, eight-thirteen, that's the one!" Rangiku chimed, knocking smartly on the highly polished wood before stepping back and taking another glance at Gin's face to see if he was getting cold feet.

No, apparently his feet were toasty-warm.

After a few moments, the door was opened to reveal a smiling Juushiro. His face quickly morphed into one of surprised greeting when he saw Rangiku and Gin.

"Why, Rangiku-chan, Gin-kun! How nice to see you! Shunsui's lazing in his room at the moment, but please, make yourselves at home while I drag him out." Juushiro beamed at the two, stepping to the side to let them in.

"Thank you very much, Ukitake-san!" Rangiku smiled back. Gin nodded silently. Rangiku elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ah…thank ya, Ukitake-san." he muttered.

While Juushiro left to fetch Kyoraku, Gin and Rangiku perched on the sofa in the tastefully decorated living room.

"This is a lovely apartment, don't you think, Gin?" Rangiku asked him, gazing around wondrously. "I hope ours will be like this some day!"

"Yeah, that'd be nice. It will, Ran-chan. Jus' give it time." he reassured her, patting her shoulder.

"Mm." she agreed, turning her head at the sound of Ukitake returning with Kyoraku.

"Ah, my sweet Rangiku-chan, happy is this wondrous day in which you and your humble partner decided to visit me in my humble abode!" Shunsui announced pantomime-style.

"…Nice to see you too, Shunsui-san." Rangiku replied, hiding a smile behind her hand.

At a small prod, Gin drawled, "Hey."

"Now, why, pray tell, are you two here? Has something happened?" Kyoraku inquired, sitting down in an armchair while Juushiro went to the kitchenette to make tea.

"Oh no, we came here because Gin wanted to say something. Didn't you, Gin?" Rangiku prompted her friend, digging him in the ribs.

'_May as well get this over with...' _

"Uh…yeah. Came t'apologise fer my behaviour the other week. It was outta order." Gin stated, halting a nonchalant shrug at Rangiku's frosty glare.

"No, not at all!" Shunsui smiled kindly. "We understand completely that you're very protective of Rangiku-chan. Why wouldn't you be?"

"Yes, Gin-kun. You needn't apologise." Juushiro added, returning with mugs of tea and biscuits for all.

"Thanks. My behaviour was inexcusable, though. I'm glad yer understandin' enough t'accept my apology." Gin said, smiling and taking a sip of his tea. Maybe these two weren't so bad after all.

"Not at all, Gin-kun. Now, Rangiku-chan, how is your babysitting going?"

…

Gin and Rangiku returned to their own flat close to six o' clock in the evening.

"Wow, we spent ages over there!" Rangiku observed.

"We did. Tell ya what, I'll go chop some veg, an' you can boil the kettle ta cook supper. I'm starvin'." Gin stated, his case backed up by a resounding rumble from his stomach.

"So am I," Rangiku laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm so grateful you made up with Ukitake-san and Shunsui-san. I don't like it when people fight. Thank you, Gin."

"That's okay, Ran-chan." Gin smiled, holding her close while he still had the chance. "Ya can tell me yer second wish tomorrow mornin'."

"Yeah." Rangiku confirmed. She swiftly reached up and kissed his cheek, effectively shocking him into silence. "Thanks again, Gin."

**A/N: Who else is glad Rangiku's period of shock didn't last long. To be fair, their relationship's really, REALLY old, so I don't think there's very much that can shake it permanently****. Which is extremely useful when you're writing a romance fic! XP**

**As this is the third-last chapter, I am now open to pairing requests for my next fic! I also have a few specifications on that subject:**

**1) NO smut! NONE! I cannot write it!** **Out of the question! Sorry...**

**2) No yaoi or yuri. I have nothing against homosexual people at all, but I'm really not good at writing those kind of things, it doesn't really come naturally to me! No offense meant to anyone, it's just me!**

**3) Could they please be Bleach pairings? I have read other mangas, but the Bleachverse is the one I know best, and I'd quite like to stay in it until I feel ready to venture out into the wild wilderness of fandom! O.O'**


	15. Second Wish

**A/N: Well, guys, here it is, the penultimate chapter! Love this one, but I'm afraid I cannot tell you why for multiple reasons...ehehehe...*evil laughter***

**I have had two pairing requests for fics; HitsuMatsu and UlquiHime! I adore both of those pairings, but I have agreed to write a Rirukio fic with someone else. However, I'm not actually sure when that's going to happen, if ever, so those of you who have me on alert, you may see some new stories with those pairings anytime soon! Or not, if I have Writers' Block. You can still request pairings or support the ones that have already been suggested to make them more likely to be written, and my conditions from my last A/N still apply!**

**Ohmigawwwd, such an amazing response to the last chapetr! Look how many people reviewed/favourited!**

**chesxca**

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**and lljj, who reviewed in PORTUGESE! Awesommme...I didn't understand it, but Google Translate did! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo-sama! OMG, has he updated his manga yet? No... :(  
><strong>

Second Wish

Gin whistled cheerfully as he prepared the breakfast for that morning. Today was one of their rare days off; it was a Sunday, so Gin didn't have a paper round, no one was in town, so busking was out of the question, and Rangiku was surprisingly free from babysitting duties that night.

Gin wondered whether his attempt at breakfast was too simple, then shrugged and went over to the refrigerator to fetch the milk. Ah. None left. Dry cereal it was, then!

"Mm…Gin?" came the bleary voice of a semi-lucid Rangiku. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Makin' breakfast. Though it ain't no good." Gin admitted. "No milk," he informed her, pointing to the fridge. "An' what kind of moron'd put an empty milk carton back in the fridge, anyway?"

"You, Gin." she reminded him.

"Oh yeah…"

"Dear God…Gin, sometimes I wonder whether you act dumb just to piss me off." Rangiku rolled her eyes, already more awake.

"Nah. It don't really work on ya no more. 'S more fun t'irritate other people now." Gin chuckled, grinning evilly.

Rangiku's eyes bugged. "Right. That's my second wish."

"Huh? What is, Ran-chan?" Gin looked confused.

"For you to smile properly. _Nicely._ That…that _thing_ just now looked utterly nightmarish!" Rangiku said, cowering away from him to prove her point.

"Oh, good. At least this wish'll be easier ta do than the last one." Gin observed happily.

Rangiku looked at him for a long minute, then shook her head slowly. "Gin…a smile that bad is gonna need a _lot_ of reformation."

…

"Right. So how do I start?" Gin asked, seating himself cross-legged on the floor opposite Rangiku.

"Well, let's see your initial attempt at a human smile first." Rangiku suggested.

Gin obliged, causing Rangiku to lurch backwards violently and cover her mouth to prevent the bile rising up her throat from entering the outside world.

"Not good, then?" Gin asked, dropping his grimace slightly.

"No." Rangiku told him bluntly. "You have to make it look natural. Like this," She flashed him a show-stopping smile.

Gin attempted again, trying and failing to relax his jaw slightly. "Better?"

"Let me think about this…no."

"Now?"

"No."

"How about this?"

"Dear God, no!"

After at least half an hour of Gin's smiling lessons, Rangiku sighed and flopped onto her back.

"I give up! Let's try a different approach. Think about things that make you happy."

"Like…?" Gin prompted, unable to muster the will to try and think for himself.

"Uh…kittens? Puppies? Ice-cream sundaes? Snow? Magazines? New clothes?"

"Ran-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Those're things that make_ you _happy."

"Right. Okay then! Long, random walks!"

Gin's mouth twitched.

"Hey, we're getting there! Uh…playing tricks on poor, unsuspecting bystanders!"

Gin's small smile transformed into a demonic grin.

"…On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a great idea…"

"Well then? Are ya gonna give up? I could give ya a refund on yer wish." Gin suggested, also quite tired of the activity.

"No way! I've given myself a challenge now! I'm not going to let it go until I absolutely have to!" Rangiku declared determinedly.

"Okay then…" Gin looked at her, only slightly worried about the state of her mental health.

"What if I bribe you?" Rangiku suggested.

"Nah, that ain't right? Ya can't bribe me ta grant ya yer wish, I promised I'd do it in penance fer…uh, that thing I did." Gin reasoned, stepping smartly round the danger-zone of the 'I love you Ran-chan' topic.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. "Are you gonna be able to do it otherwise?"

"…"

"…Didn't think so. Tell you what, if you smile, I'll cook a dinner of your choice tonight! Anything you'd like!"

Gin's mouth curved upwards in a so-very-nearly-there half-smile.

"You're almost there! Hold that expression! Uh…I'll let you annoy people and play pranks with abandon for an entire week!"

"Ran-chan, I do that anyway…" Gin reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm running out of ideas here!" Rangiku waved him off. '_Already…'_ she added silently. "Ah…Okay! How about this?" She took a deep breath. "If you smile properly, I'll kiss you."

Gin's expression immediately became sober. "No, Ran-chan. That's it, I'm not gonna let ya squander away yer kisses fer somethin' as hopeless as this." he said, getting up from the floor.

Rangiku grabbed his sleeve. "But Gin! It's the only thing I can think of! I really want you to smile properly!"

"It ain't worth it, Ran-chan. Now stop, please." he half-pleaded.

"Don't you want me to kiss you?" she asked him, giving him unnecessary puppy-eyes.

"…" Gin's cheeks reddened visibly as he turned his head away.

"There! See, I want you to smile; you want me to kiss you. It's a win-win situation!" Rangiku sang cheerfully.

"Ran-chan…" Gin shook his head wonderingly at her innocent outlook on life.

"Gin!" Rangiku's eyes widened.

"Huh? What is it?" Gin raised his eyebrows.

"You smiled, Gin! A real one!"

"I did?" Gin was flabbergasted.

"Yup! And you know what that means!" Rangiku was surprisingly eager as she sprang up from her place on the floor and flung her arms around his neck, pushing her lips against his.

Gin's eyes bugged, revealing ice-blue, before they slowly slid closed as he began to return the kiss. He was expecting it to be quite short, taking into account Rangiku's apparent concept of him as a just-friend-and-nothing-else, but was taken by surprise when she suddenly pressed her mouth harder against his, tightening her hold on him. Her soft tongue found its way inside his open mouth, and Gin's self control shattered.

Growling predatorily, he locked his arms around her body, tackling her tongue with his. His hands travelled up and down her back, from her shoulder-blades to her waist and up again. She returned the kiss with equal amounts of passion, fisting her small hands in his hair as if to hold his head in position. At a gentle nibble of her lower lip by Gin, she let out a loud moan, startling the both of them back into reality.

They sprang apart, lips swollen and cheeks flaming. There was an agonized silence before Gin raised his eyes to hers.

"Ran-chan…I'm so sorry, I—" he choked out, breaking off when tears threatened to spill over. Her first proper kiss and he'd stolen it, like a sly fox that cared nothing for anything else's feelings.

"No…no, Gin. I'm sorry. It-it was me who started it, and let it get out of hand. I don't know what happened, I just…Sorry." she whispered finally, her own tears already sliding down her scarlet cheeks.

"Ran-chan…" Gin walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I…well, I didn't exactly mind, y'know?"

Rangiku laughed through her sobs, turning so she could bury her face into his chest. And, though he wasn't sure if he was just hearing things or not, Gin could have sworn he heard her mumble, "…I didn't mind either…"

**A/N: AAAAHHHHH, KISS! AAAAHHHHHH, RANGIKU MIGHT HAVE REALISED HER FEELINGS FOR GIN! AAAAAHHHHHH! Can you guys guess why I loved this chapter? I wrote it last night at ten without a lamp, so it probably wasn't that great, but hey! I edited it just now! Please tell me what you think, I really don't mind reviews in other languages, as long as Google Translate can cope with them! Oh, but if you can speak English, please review in it****, it just saves me a whole heap of effort when I'm on my Kindle! (which doesn't seem to support multiple tabs...)**


	16. Third Wish

**A/N: Okayyy, so I have a stomach ache today, am off school, so after dosing myself up with painkillers, I decided to write the last chapter of Busking! I wasn't going to post it for a few days, but...yeah. I'm bored. And I've already done Science revision, shockingly!**

**This chapter was sooooooo hard to write. It ended up going on forever, so I had to delete it all and rewrite it. AND IT STILL ISN'T THAT GOOD! Sigh...I always find final chapters hard, so many loose ends to tie up! It's a pain in the butt...but a fun one, if that makes sense.**

**This chapter doesn't actually have that much dialogue in it, as I thought most of you would appreciate knowing exactly what's going on in Gin and Rangiku's heads. But there is some towards the end...THE FINAL END, WAAAAAHHHH! I wrote Fin at the bottom and everything...I don't like it when stories end, especially when I've got attached to them. I almost always cry, whether it's a sad ending or a happy one. Twilight and Fruits Basket come immediately to mind...**

**Awesome response to the last chapter, and new reviewers too! Yayyy...see if you can pick them out of the crowd! **

**angelprincess ino**

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**and Fox95! That's almost as much as the chapter before last, and it's been less than 24 hours! Awesommmme! Thanks, you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite and his awesome (updated? OMG YEAH! Will read after this!) manga.  
><strong>

Third Wish

Rangiku floated gently in the bath, pondering on the world in general. It wasn't often she had time to soak like this, and it always put her in a very soporific state. So, as she floated, Rangiku thought; exactly how much did Gin actually love her? Exactly _why_ did he love her? And exactly why did she feel inclined towards him in a similar way?

Rangiku sat up suddenly, disturbing the peaceful tranquillity of the muffled silence that had fallen while her ears had been submerged. It wouldn't do to get all het up; if she started hyperventilating, Gin was on his paper round and wouldn't be able to save her.

She squirted a glob of shampoo onto her palm and lathered it vigorously into her hair. The suds felt nice, allowing the strands to slip through her fingers without resistance. Almost like Gin's had…

Rangiku shook her head hard. What was she doing? She'd promised herself she wouldn't make things even more complicated than they already were, and reminiscing over the feel of Gin's hair in her hands was _not _helping her achieve that goal.

But…she'd enjoyed it. That kiss. She'd always imagined her first kiss to be like in the fairytales; a handsome prince would rescue her from her plight, they would fall in love over time and finally get married. However, in retrospect, Rangiku could see that could never happen. She wasn't princess-like in anyone's eyes, and way too sensible to be caught in some 'plight'. And, though she hadn't known it at the time her daydreams were born, Gin had been the only prince she would ever or could ever have. The only one for her. They were made for each other, perfectly contradictory, yet they complimented each other exquisitely. The sun and the moon, the wild cat and the fox.

Rangiku snorted at the poetic rubbish running through her mind, but couldn't bring herself to contradict it. So, her suspicions had been true, then. She loved Gin. Big deal. Who wouldn't, in her position? But she knew Gin. He became bored easily; he was as temporary as a summer breeze. Rangiku didn't know whether she could handle being left behind by someone she cared for so much, and the worst thing was, she knew he could. He'd never known his family, but he'd never thought about them or wished for them, not even for a second. Gin could leave her behind without one look back, and Rangiku didn't think she could take that.

Rangiku sighed. She knew she was being silly, but she couldn't stop the negative thoughts. Giving up trying to repress them, she decided to counter them with good old reason; Gin's favourite method of dealing with stress.

He could leave her. Yeah, he could, but he wouldn't. He'd promised her that much, way back in the orphanage, and Gin never went back on his promises.

He could become bored with her. Uh…no. Rangiku knew Gin, but she knew herself as well. She was_ not_ boring. Nuh uh.

He could get lost on one of his huge walks.

…Right, _now_ she was just being stupid.

Rangiku chuckled lightly at herself, her mood much improved. Maybe logic worked after all. But only sometimes.

She let herself wonder about whether Gin loved her as much as he claimed, then waved that off with a swipe of an imaginary hand. Gin may have had the ultimate poker face, but all disguises fell with familiarity, and Rangiku was about as familiar with him as they come. He loved her, she knew that. And a hell of a lot, too.

Rangiku shivered with anticipation at that, an excited smile on her face. She knew she was lucky; how many orphaned girls get the guy of their dreams with barely any struggle at all? Yeah, she didn't think so.

Why would he love her? Ah, who cares? Rangiku was ever the practical girl, and if something was there, there was no need to poke and prod it for proof until it crumbled to dust in front of her very eyes.

So. There she had it. Gin loved her. She loved Gin. There was no third wheel in the works, no hot other guy or girl. But there was Gin himself. Idiot, he was much too self-depreciating. Unlike her, he over-thought things, examining them over and over until he'd dissected it all to nothing. He couldn't see her love for him, and if he could, he'd pass it off as indigestion or some other crap. When she'd kissed him - when she'd _enjoyed_ kissing him - all he'd been able to think about was how selfish he was for stealing her first kiss. And he was selfish; not for those reasons, but for the fact that he thought that all things complied with his personal conceptions. He thought she saw him as a friend, so she did. It was that simple. There was no leeway in his mind for her to show him what was right in front of his eyes, no space for her to show him she actually loved him as much as he loved her. Granted, she hadn't realized she thought of him in that way until he'd pecked the corner of her mouth a few days ago, but since then, he'd changed completely in her mind's eye, and, Gin being Gin, he hadn't seen or even suspected it.

Rangiku shook her head slowly, sluicing her foamy head with warm bath water. He'd come round eventually. Gin was many things, but he certainly wasn't stupid.

…

Gin frowned as he shoved another newspaper through another letterbox, kicking off another small, yappy dog. He swore quietly when the said mutt nipped his leg, not hard enough to draw blood, but still pretty damn hard. He strode down the driveway again, making sure to close the gate properly behind him.

As he straddled his bicycle, Gin thought back to the events of the previous day; Rangiku had made her second wish, Rangiku had kissed him. He'd kissed Rangiku. And she hadn't pushed him away.

Gin allowed himself a soft smile. So maybe there were some feelings there after all. But there was no guarantee that she actually loved him; the kiss could have been the work of the raging teenage hormones she'd been suffering from recently. But then again, the raging teenage hormones could be a result of her loving him.

Gin sighed heavily as he delivered another newspaper. It was a vicious circle, this train of thought. No matter what he came up with, it always led him to the same impossible conclusion that was giving him a headache. It was the only thing that was realistic, and yet it was the only thing that could never happen. Rangiku could never love him as he loved her, he was her friend. In her eyes, anyway. But was he? The way she'd kissed him; it'd held such undiluted passion, the passion only seen in embraces between couples in films. It had matched his own, and Gin knew all too well what _he_ felt for the wench.

So maybe she did love him. But she couldn't. But maybe, somehow…

"Ah, stuff it all!" Gin groaned out loud. He was sick of this. As he cycled down the winding path to the convenience store to collect his wage, Gin devised a plan. He would go home, ask Rangiku what the hell was going on, get an answer out of her and react accordingly. Perfect.

He had an infallible plan in place. Now, all he could do was hope and pray for…_both_ of the outcomes?

No, that was messed up. He couldn't want both options, that didn't make sense. He must want one more than the other, but damn it all if he could tell what it was.

Did he want her to reject him and move on with her life, for her to free herself of all ties to him? No. But did he want her to return his feelings, only to feel torn in two when some other random guy came along later and stole her heart again? She wouldn't want to abandon him, but Rangiku prided herself on always following her heart. No, he didn't want that indecision for her either.

So what in the name of hell did he want?

Gin rolled his eyes mentally. Of course. He wanted the impossible. He wanted her to love him, fully and unconditionally, for her to never so much as_ look_ at anyone else, for her to be his forever. That wasn't going to happen, Rangiku was so radiant she'd be sure to catch the eye of another, one more loyal, more friendly, more kind than him. And he wanted her to stay with him only. That was selfish.

…And he was going round in circles. Again.

Gin gave up, parked his bike and entered the block of flats they lived in.

…

Rangiku's head snapped up when she heard the key in the lock of the door to their apartment. Gin was home!

She hurriedly stood up, wringing out her long hair one more time before tying it loosely with a red elastic band and venturing out into the living room, where Gin was taking off his shoes.

They both started to speak at the same time.

"Gin—"

"Ran-chan—"

There was a brief silence. Then…

"You wanna go first, or shall I?" Gin asked her, picking up immediately that what she wanted to say was freaking important.

"Uh…yeah, okay." Rangiku stalled, suddenly unsure of how to proceed. She couldn't just drop the bombshell on him like that, he'd have a heart-attack. But then again…he'd dropped it on her.

"I love you too, Gin."

Gin choked on his own breath. "Gah! What?"

"I love you."

"Ran-chan…ya don't have ta try an' make me feel better by—"

"No, shut up for a minute, Gin! I love you. Don't argue, it's my mind!" she commanded him when he opened his mouth to protest. "I hadn't realized it before, but…it's been quite a while. I know you love me too, you told me after all, but I can't help wondering whether you'll just get bored and leave or something. It's stupid, I know, but I just can't get the thought out of my head."

"Ran-chan…" Gin breathed, wide-eyed. His irises were such a pretty colour, she marveled. "I'd never leave ya. You know that. I just…couldn't. Yer my life, Ran-chan, I'd give up everythin' fer ya."

"Me too, Gin."

"But," he continued, causing dread to settle in Rangiku's stomach. "I can't allow ya ta be with me. Eventually, yer gonna see some other kid, an' he'll be so much better than me, an'—"

"That's bull crap!" Rangiku interrupted him. "There's no way I could ever look at anyone else with you by my side, Gin! Stop…_putting yourself down_! Apart from everything else, it's freaking irritating!"

"But I—"

"I don't care, Gin! I love you, I'm not leaving you, and I'm not going to be made sad by being with you. On the contrary, it'll probably make my life." Rangiku mused, relieved beyond comprehension at her final understanding that Gin wasn't going to leave her after all.

"I—Ran-chan, I—" Gin stuttered, trying and failing to come up with some other half-assed excuse as to why he wasn't good enough for her.

"And so…I've decided on my third wish! And you have to mean it, with all your heart, Gin!"

"What is it?" Gin croaked, still absolutely flabbergasted at the revelation she'd thrown at him only moments before.

"I want you to kiss me. But not just an ordinary kiss. I want it to be a promise: that you'll never wander off, that you'll never leave, and that you'll _frickin' believe it when I tell you I love you_!"

Gin stared at her, speechless.

"I understand if you don't want to make those promises, so—"

"Don't be stupid, Ran-chan. I already made them. I love ya too." Gin recovered his voice, rolling his eyes in joking scorn.

"So will you kiss me?"

"With pleasure, Ran-chan."

Fin

**A/N: And that is the end of Busking! *Sobs***

**I'm so sad to see this thing go, but so happy also, 'cos now I can finally believe that Gin and Rangiku are completely happy in at least one fandom, and NONE OF THEM DIE! **

**If you'd like me to write any other pairings in the future, please either tell me in a review or PM me. I'll try my hardest to do so, but if I don't particularly like the pairing or missed out on it completely because it was in a filler episode in the anime, then I can't make any promises. If you want to see what pairings I like, check my Profile, but I probably forgot some, so try anyways! Thanks again for sticking with me throughout this story, it's my longest so far, and possibly my favourite. (Still can't choose between this and The Six Matchmakers)**

**And...I said before that I'd love to get 80 reviews, and I believe I have...let me check...yes! I have! 86 reviews! I know it's not likely, but I really would adore to crack 100, so, even if you haven't reviewed before, please do so now! I do accept anonymous reviews, and any comments are welcomed, as long as they're not flames! Sooo...I do believe this is the last time I'm going to see you guys in this fic! See ya! Byyyeee! xx**


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